Korea Republic and Japan, the two leading members of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) are both due to attend the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Korea Republic, who will make their ninth (and eighth-successive) appearance at the World Cup finals, have been coached by Hong Myong-Bo since the EAFF East Asian Cup final tournament last July. Results were unimpressive at the start of his tenure, but the 2-1 win against European giants Switzerland last November gave them momentum.



In March, Korea Republic beat Greece in Athens. Winning 2-0 away from home against Japan’s group stage opponents satisfied Hong, who said: “We saw Greece as Russia, our World Cup opponents.” This win also instilled further confidence in their completeness.

Korea Republic’s first goal was scored by Park Chu-Young, who was recalled to the international team for the first time in a year. After receiving his first call-up from Hong for this match, the 28-year-old striker scored an international goal for the first time in around 25 months, securing a place in the World Cup squad for his third successive tournament.

The scorer of the second goal, Son Heung-Min, is a Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Germany) attacker whose goal count has reached double figures for the previous two consecutive seasons. Boasting sharp left-foot shots and crosses, he is seen as their main source of goals along with Park. Meanwhile, 196cm-tall forward Kim Shin-Wook will provide Hong with a further attacking option.

Centre-back duo Kim Young-Gwon and Hong Jeong-Ho are the key players in Korea Republic’s defensive line. The two have played together through the international ranks and are familiar enough with each other’s playing styles to ensure smooth link-up play between them. The solidity of this pairing, along with goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong allows full-backs Lee Yong and Kim Jin-Su to push forward with confidence.

Starting their training camp in Seoul in mid-May, Korea Republic faced Tunisia on the 28th of May for a friendly. After playing a final warm-up game against Ghana on the 9th of June, they will begin their group stage campaign on the 17th of June.

Japan won the final home game before the tournament

Alberto Zaccheroni’s Japan started their preparation with a domestic training camp on the 21st of May. Key players such as Keisuke Honda, Yuto Nagatomo, Shinji Kagawa and Yasuhito Endo duly entered the 23-player final squad. Makoto Hasebe, Atsuto Uchida and Maya Yoshida are completing their recoveries from injury.



The only surprise pick was Yoshito Okubo. The 31-year-old striker scored the most goals in the J1 league and won a place in the final squad for two successive tournaments.

Japan played against Cyprus on the 27th of May at Saitama Stadium 2002. After working hard to raise their physical condition in the camp, players weren’t considered fresh. As “physical sharpness cannot be expected,” Zaccheroni claimed his objective was to “check how mind sharpness can affect the game.”

Japan eventually won 1-0, with right back Uchida driving forward and tapping in the only goal of the game on 43 minutes. Afterwards, Zaccheroni gave his team a passing mark, saying; “My players tried hard and made several chances.”

Japan traveled to the U.S. on the 29th of May for a final training camp and played warm-ups against Costa Rica and Zambia in preparation for their first World Cup match on the 15th of June.

How will the two leading EAFF members fight in a stage where world’s very best teams gather? The quadrennial battle will soon kick off.