After competing in the EAFF East Asian Cup 2013 held in July, Japan, Korea Republic and China are developing their teams in their own respective ways.
Japan, who will participate in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, faced three countries from different continents: Uruguay in August and Guatemala and Ghana in September.

Masato Morishige and Yuya Osako impressed Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni in the EAFF East Asian Cup 2013 and started against Guatemala in Osaka. Masato Kudo, who came on in the second half and scored Japan’s second goal, had also made his presence felt in the July tournament.
Japan won 3-0 partly thanks to positive performances by new faces. Morishige played for the full 90 minutes in the centre of the defence and contributed to their first clean sheet in eight games.

Yoichiro Kakitani, the golden boot winner in the EAFF East Asian Cup 2013, started against Ghana in Yokohama as a lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Improving the link-up with surrounding players game after game, he produced flowing combination play with Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda. Japan beat the African giants 3-1 to mark two straight friendly wins.

Hong Myung-Bo’s team also played friendly matches at home in September. Overseas-based players who play in Germany, England, Saudi Arabia, China or others gathered for the first time. Meanwhile, youngsters such as Kim Jin-Su, 21, and Jang Hyun-Soo, 22, were also called up. Starting from the EAFF East Asian Cup 2013, the new coach’s team-building has finally reached a key stage.

It turned out that foreign-based players played key roles in Korea Republic’s win against Haiti on the 6th September. Son Heung-Min and Koo Ja-Cheol, who play for German Bundesliga sides scored twice and once, respectively. Experienced Lee Keun-Ho also found the net to defeat Haiti 4-1 and earn Hong his first win as Korea Republic manager.



In the following game against Croatia, they fell behind to goals in the 64th and 71st minutes. However, they showed their resilient style and Lee Keun-Ho managed to get a goal back in added time. “I think it was a good experience against giants,” said Hong after the game. Their vision toward the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is now becoming clearer.

Finishing the EAFF East Asian Cup 2013 with satisfying results of one win and two draws, China is aiming for a berth in the AFC Asian Cup 2015. They played against Singapore and Malaysia on the international match days in September to prepare for the qualifiers to be resumed in October.

Their performance is on the rise. In the match against Singapore on the 6th September, Yu Dabao, Zhang Xizhe and Sun Ke all scored to lead the team to a resounding 6-0 win. China then beat Malaysia 2-0.

China caretaker coach Fu Bo, who also took charge in the July tournament, will remain in the role at least until the year end. With consistency secured, China can now solidify the team in terms of both strategy and members.
Guangzhou Evergrande, the biggest club in China, provide many key players of the China international team resulting in flowing combination moves. While veterans such as captain Zheng Zhi and Qu Bo lead the team, young talents in their early twenties including Zhang Xizhe, Jin Jingdao and Wu Lei are emerging, making their future promising.