# 2025 EAFF E-1 Football Championship
The 2025 EAFF E-1 Football Championship, officially the EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2025 Final Korea Republic, was the men's and women's East Asian international football tournament hosted by South Korea from 7 to 16 July 2025, organized by the Korea Football Association under the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF).[1](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index_c.html) Japan won the men's tournament with three wins from three matches, beating Korea Republic 1–0 in the decisive final-round game, while Korea Republic won the women's tournament for the first time in 20 years.[2](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/result879.html) • [3](https://www.the-afc.com/en/more/eaff_championship.html/news/japan-edge-korea-republic-to-retain-title) • [4](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/result881_c.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates and host | 7–16 July 2025, South Korea; organized by the Korea Football Association under the EAFF[1](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index_c.html) |
| Venues | Yong-in Mireu Stadium (capacity 37,155), Suwon WC Stadium (42,313), and Hwaseong Sports Complex (35,265)[1](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index_c.html) |
| Format | Single round-robin, each team plays the other three once; 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, no extra time[1](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index_c.html) |
| Men's winner | Japan, 9 points from 3 wins, 9 goals for and 1 against; Korea Republic second on 6 points[5](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index.html) |
| Women's winner | Korea Republic, 5 points, ahead of China PR, Japan, and Chinese Taipei, all decided on goals scored[5](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index.html) |
| Men's awards | MVP and top scorer (5 goals) Ryo Germain (Japan); Best Defender Kim Moon-hwan (Korea Rep.); Best Goalkeeper Keisuke Osako (Japan)[5](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index.html) |
| Title history | Japan's third men's title (after 2013 and 2022) and second in a row; the competition was first held in 2003[3](https://www.the-afc.com/en/more/eaff_championship.html/news/japan-edge-korea-republic-to-retain-title) • [6](https://www.fifa.com/en/news/articles/eaff-e1-championship-review) |
## Format and participants
The finals used a round-robin league system in which each team played one match against each of the other teams, with three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a defeat; no extra time was played in any match.[1](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index_c.html) The men's field comprised China PR, Hong Kong, China, Japan, and Korea Republic; the women's field comprised China PR, Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Korea Republic.[1](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index_c.html) Matches ran from 7 to 16 July 2025 across three stadiums in [Gyeonggi Province](https://www.edgepedia.org/gyeonggi-province): Yong-in Mireu Stadium, Suwon WC Stadium, and Hwaseong Sports Complex.[1](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index_c.html)
## Men's tournament
**Japan's opening wins.** Japan opened on 8 July with a 6–1 win over Hong Kong, China at Yong-in Mireu Stadium. Ryo Germain scored in the 4th minute with a left-footed volley on his international debut, added a header in the 10th, completed his hat-trick in the 22nd, and scored a fourth in the 26th; Sho Inagaki added a long-range goal in the 20th and Sota Nakamura the sixth in stoppage time, while Matthew Orr headed Hong Kong's consolation in the 59th minute.[7](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/result871_c.html) Japan then beat [Chinese Taipei](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-taipei) 4–0 on 9 July and China PR 2–0 on 12 July.[8](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index_j.html)
**Korea Republic's campaign.** Host Korea Republic opened the tournament on 7 July with a 3–0 win over China PR, Lee Dong-gyeong scoring a curling shot in the 8th minute and Joo Min-kyu heading in from Lee Tae-seok's cross in the 21st.[9](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/result870_c.html) Korea then drew 2–2 with China PR on 9 July and beat Hong Kong, China 2–0 on 11 July, setting up a final-round meeting of two teams with two wins each.[8](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index_j.html)
**The decisive match.** On 15 July at Yong-in Mireu Stadium, Korea Republic and Japan, both on two wins, met in the last round. Korea kept the back-three formation it had used throughout the tournament; Na Sang-ho hit the post with a sharp shot in the 7th minute, and one minute later Germain Ryo finished a cross from the left to score his fifth goal of the tournament. Japan held on for a 1–0 win.[2](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/result879.html) The Asian Football Confederation reported that a first-half volley from Germain sealed the victory and Japan's third EAFF E-1 title, with Japan finishing top on nine points, three ahead of Korea Republic.[3](https://www.the-afc.com/en/more/eaff_championship.html/news/japan-edge-korea-republic-to-retain-title) Japan closed with a 0–0 draw against China PR on 16 July, while China's 1–0 win over Hong Kong the previous day, from Huang Zhengyu's 20th-minute goal, gave China third place and left Hong Kong without a point.[8](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index_j.html) • [10](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/result878_k.html)
## Women's tournament
Korea Republic won the women's competition by beating Chinese Taipei 2–0 at Suwon World Cup Stadium on 16 July, with Ji So-yun scoring a 68th-minute penalty won by Kang Chae-rim and Jang Sel-gi adding the second in the 85th minute from Kim Hye-ri's cross.[4](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/result881_c.html) The win left Korea Republic with one win and two draws, five points, and the title was decided on goals scored because China PR and Japan finished level on points; Korea Republic's first women's title in 20 years.[4](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/result881_c.html) • [5](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index.html) China PR took second place, Japan third, and Chinese Taipei fourth.[5](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index.html) FIFA noted the result came as Korea Republic prepared for the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026.[6](https://www.fifa.com/en/news/articles/eaff-e1-championship-review)
## Awards
In the men's tournament Ryo Germain was named MVP and top scorer with five goals, Kim Moon-hwan of Korea Republic won Best Defender, and Keisuke Osako of Japan won Best Goalkeeper.[5](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index.html) In the women's tournament Jang Sel-gi of Korea Republic was MVP, Shao Ziqin of China PR was top scorer with three goals, Rion Ishikawa of Japan won Best Defender, and Kim Min-jung of Korea Republic won Best Goalkeeper.[5](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index.html)
## Context
The competition, run by the EAFF, was first held in Japan in 2003 and typically involves a mixture of regular internationals and younger players.[6](https://www.fifa.com/en/news/articles/eaff-e1-championship-review) Japan's 2025 men's title was its third, following 2013 and 2022, and its second in succession; Korea Republic remains the most frequent men's winner with five titles (2003, 2008, 2015, 2017, 2019).[3](https://www.the-afc.com/en/more/eaff_championship.html/news/japan-edge-korea-republic-to-retain-title) • [5](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index.html)
## References
1. [EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2025 Final Korea Republic – Outline, EAFF](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index_c.html)
2. [Korea Rep. 0–1 Japan, match report, EAFF](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/result879.html)
3. [Japan edge Korea Republic to retain title, the-AFC](https://www.the-afc.com/en/more/eaff_championship.html/news/japan-edge-korea-republic-to-retain-title)
4. [Korea Rep. 2–0 Chinese Taipei (women), match report, EAFF](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/result881_c.html)
5. [EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2025 – Table and Awards, EAFF](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index.html)
6. [Nagatomo takes Japan to E-1 Football Championship title, FIFA](https://www.fifa.com/en/news/articles/eaff-e1-championship-review)
7. [Japan 6–1 Hong Kong, China, match report, EAFF](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/result871_c.html)
8. [EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2025 – Schedule, EAFF](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/index_j.html)
9. [Korea Rep. 3–0 China PR, match report, EAFF](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/result870_c.html)
10. [China PR 1–0 Hong Kong, China, match report, EAFF](https://eaff.com/competitions/eaff2025/result878_k.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Seasons and editions › National team seasons and results archives › Senior national team tournaments*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license