WK League News

The final round of the EAFF E-1 Football Championship will be held in Korea next month, with both men’s and women’s competitions taking place from 7th-16th July. South Korea, Japan, China and Hong Kong will contest the men’s title with matches taking place at Yongin Mireu Stadium. Meanwhile, the women’s tournament will see South Korea, Japan, China and Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) face off in games to be held at Suwon World Cup Stadium and Hwaseong Sports Complex.

The women’s tournament takes place across three days, with two games on each matchday, as follows:

South Korea’s women have previously won the EAFF E-1 Championship once, in 2005, when the country hosted the first edition of the women’s tournament. Since then, defending champions Japan have claimed the title four times, with North Korea winning on three occasions. South Korea have finished as runners-up twice, including on home soil in 2019, when Japan lifted the trophy. South Korea also finished as runners-up to China in the 2022 Asian Cup, so this time they’ll be aiming to go a step further in front of a home crowd.

With manager Shin Sangwoo having used recent international friendly matches to give a number of youngsters their senior international debut, and try out various different lineups and formations, there were few surprises in the squad announcement on Monday. It’s a more streamlined tournament squad, which at first glance appears to have more options in midfield and fewer up front, with only three forwards compared to the eight listed in the squad for the friendlies. In reality, however, there’s plenty of goalscoring talent among the players listed as midfielders in this squad, including Suwon FC’s Kang Chaerim and Hwacheon KSPO’s Moon Eunju. Along with living legend Ji Soyun and Birmingham City’s dynamic duo of Choe Yuri and Lee Geummin, these more experienced players should be able to provide some stability behind the youthful attacking lineup of Jeon Yugyeong (21), Jeong Dabin (19), and Casey Yujin Phair (17). There’s also newer talent from the likes of Park Soojeong and Jung Minyoung, both of whom made an excellent impression upon their senior debut against Colombia, with Park being named player of the match in one match and Jung scoring Korea’s only goal in the other.

In defence, among established national team regulars (Kim Hyeri, Jang Selgi, Kim Jinhee) and more recently added but no less reliable names (Choo Hyojoo, Ko Yoojin) there is one new addition to the squad: Changnyeong WFC’s captain Koo Chaehyun, receiving her first senior international call-up for this tournament. Although Changnyeong have struggled so far in this year’s WK League, Koo has put in some excellent individual performances, including in the team’s first (and thus far, only) win of the season against Mungyeong Sangmu, for which she was named Round 13 MVP by the KWFF. The goalkeeping selections are unchanged.

Lee Minhwa, Kim Minji and Lee Eunyoung were not initially named in the squad, which was limited to 23 players as per competition rules. With confirmation that up to 26 players would be allowed, the trio were added in an updated squad announced this afternoon. The full squad is listed below.

Tickets for the tournament go on sale tonight (26th June) at 19:00 via PlayKFA (for residents of Korea) and are also available via Interpark Global (for non-residents). In both stadiums, tickets cost ₩30,000 for reserved seats or ₩20,000 for non-reserved seats (E) (₩10,000 for children and students). Note that W and E seats are listed as options within the same event on PlayKFA, but as two completely separate items on the Interpark site. Tickets for the wheelchair-accessible viewing area are only available at the on-site ticket office on the day of the match. If you are booking via Interpark, full ticket sales information is published in English on the purchase page.

In the case that Korea are playing, at Suwon World Cup Stadium blocks E2-E5 are designated for supporters of Korea, while E7-8 are set aside for away team fans. There is one block of neutral seating between the two, and as these seats are non-reserved, this does not make a difference at the time of booking. Similarly, at Hwaseong a number of blocks of the non-reserved seating are specifically for one or the other team, so do be mindful of this when choosing your seat on the day. When Korea are not playing, at both stadiums, a small section of the non-reserved seating is allocated specifically to supporters of each team, with plenty of neutral seating available. Again, this is not particularly relevant at the time of booking but maps showing the fan zones can be seen via the KFA’s social media for those who like to plan ahead.

Please note that seating tiers and pricing are different for the men’s tournament — details are available via the EAFF website, KFA channels and Interpark.

Korea Women’s National Football Team (June 2025)

Goalkeepers: Kim Minjung (Incheon Hyundai Steel), Ryu Jisoo (Sejong Sportstoto), Woo Seobin (Seoul City Amazones)
Defenders: Ko Yoojin (Incheon Hyundai Steel), Koo Chaehyun (Changnyeong WFC), Kim Miyeon (Seoul City Amazones), Kim Jinhee (Gyeongju KHNP), Kim Hyeri (Wuhan Jiangda), Jang Selgi (Gyeongju KHNP), Choo Hyojoo (Ottawa Rapid), Noh Jinyoung (Mungyeong Sangmu), Lee Minhwa (Hwacheon KSPO)
Midfielders: Kang Chaerim (Suwon FC), Kim Shinji (AS Roma), Moon Eunju (Hwacheon KSPO), Park Soojeong (Ulsan College), Lee Geummin (Birmingham City), Lee Youngju (Levante Badalona), Jung Minyoung (Seoul City Amazones), Ji Soyun (Seattle Reign), Choe Yuri (Birmingham City), Kim Minji (Seoul City Amazones), Lee Eunyoung (Changnyeong WFC)
Forwards: Jeon Yugyeong (Molde FK), Jeong Dabin (Korea University), Casey Yujin Phair (Angel City FC)