The outcome of this match would crown the first champion of the East Asian Football Championship, and the exciting football displayed by rivals Japan and Korea Rep. was worthy of the significance it held.

Both teams were feeling each other out at the beginning, but the game changed complexion in the 18th minute. Japan was attacking the Korean goal when Okubo went down in the penalty box and was given a yellow card, his second in the match, for simulation. Okubo was sent off the pitch and Japan was suddenly faced with a man-power disadvantage. Korea Rep. naturally took advantage of the situation, but Japan responded quickly by reinforcing their defense with a five-man line and managed to ward off Korea's relentless attacks with a strong physical maneuvers.

Japan needed a win to become the first champion, while a draw was sufficient for Korea Rep., so in the 2nd half Japan changed gear to a more offensive line-up, pitching in Motoyama and Fujita. This tactic was working as Japan began to take control in mid field. Once in possession of the ball, Kubo, Motoyama and Miyamoto would rush forward on an all-out offensive, fiercely attacking Korea's goal. Meanwhile, Korea Rep. shielded their goal and delivered several piercing counter-attacks, carrying the ball in to the penalty area, but kept missing the goal.

The crowd kept cheering and screaming as both teams kept their pace up into the loss time, but in the end, the match closed with a scoreless draw, giving Korea Rep. the champion title while host country Japan finished second.

Korea's Coach Humberto Coelho proudly commented, "It is not easy to play against an undermanned team. We built our strategy to win the title and we succeeded," as he praised Japan's performance.

Failing to capture the title by a one-goal difference (total number of goals in the final competition: Korea Rep. 4, Japan 3), Japan's Coach Zico commented, "We maintained our system and continued to attack. I am proud of my players. They now know the significance of one goal. We learned a lot from this tournament."