South Korea lost to Japan 1-0 in the 2025 East Asian Cup final.

The national football team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, suffered the defeat at home on Tuesday in the final match of the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championships at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, south of Seoul.

Ryo Germain scored the match’s lone goal in the eighth minute, securing a second consecutive title for defending champion Japan. 

South Korea finished second in the four-nation tournament with two wins and one loss. 

It was South Korea’s third consecutive defeat to Japan, which previously won a friendly in Yokohama in March 2021 and an East Asian Cup match in July 2022.

This is the first time South Korea has lost three matches in a row to Japan.