Kwon and Cho put on a show as Korea beat China 3-0

Football

Published: 21 Jul. 2022, 10:35

Kwon and Cho put on a show as Korea beat China 3-0

Cho Gue-sung scores Korea's third goal against China in an EAFF E-1 Football Championship game at Toyota Stadium in Japan on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

The Kwon Chang-hoon and Cho Gue-sung show returned in full force on Wednesday night, with the Gimcheon Sangmu pair doubling up once again to lead the Taeguk Warriors to a 3-0 win over China in Korea's opening game of the men's tournament at the 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship.

The army duo — midfielder Kwon and forward Cho are currently in the middle of serving their military duty with the military football team — made it two in a row on Wednesday, both having also scored during the Korean national team's last game against Egypt on June 14. This time they received a little help from the opposition as well, with China opening the scoring with an own goal in the first half.

With the 3-0 win, Korea now sits in second place in the East Asian tournament, trailing hosts Japan on goal difference. China takes third, with Hong Kong in last place.

The EAFF E-1 Championship is typically played every two or three years, with this year's tournament set to take place in Japan from July 18 to July 27. The tournament is hosted by the East Asian Football Federation, the governing body of association football in East Asia.

Korea, Japan and China each have a guaranteed spot at the E-1 Championship, with one additional team — in this case Hong Kong — entered either by winning a qualifying tournament or, as is this case this year, based on FIFA rankings. The championship is played as a round robin tournament.

Korea, ranked 50 spots higher than China on the official FIFA rankings, dominated from the start on Wednesday despite playing with a significantly paired back squad as the E-1 Championship is not played during an official FIFA international break, meaning that clubs are not required to release their players to compete.

With so many Koreans active overseas, the Taeguk Warriors headed to Japan without go-to goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu, defender Kim Min-jae, midfielders Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Jae-sung, Jung Woo-young and Jeong Woo-yeong and forward Hwang Ui-jo. But despite those absences, there was plenty of talent left in the KBO to get he job done.

Goal No. 1 came from Chinese defender Zhu Chenjie in the 39th minute. Zhu, attempting to intercept a cross from Kwon Kyung-won, accidentally sent the ball past his own goalkeeper instead.

Kwon Chang-hoon, center, celebrates with his teammates after scoring Korea's second goal against China in an EAFF E-1 Football Championship game at Toyota Stadium in Japan on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

That goal put Korea up 1-0 going into the break, and Kwon was quick to cement that lead shortly after the game resumed. Picking up a ball headed on by Kim Jin-su in the 54th minute, Kwon slipped it past the goalkeeper to take the score to 2-0.

Cho, who also scored for Team K League last week in an exhibition game against Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, added No. 3 in the 80th minute, beating the keeper with his right foot for a tidy goal.

Korea will next face Hong Kong, who they will need to defeat by a significant margin to overcome Japan's three-goal lead on goal difference, on Sunday. In the meantime, the women's team, who started their tournament with a loss to Japan on Tuesday, will face China on Saturday.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]