Unmatched on the continent: South Korea becomes Asian Games champion for the fourth consecutive time

3 October 2026, 17:39·46·Sport

The men's football final match of the Asian Games taking place in Japan turned into a truly principled showdown. In the central battle for the gold medals, the South Korea U-23 national team took the field against the tournament host, Japan.

In a fierce and tense final, the young South Korean footballers secured a minimal yet extremely valuable 1:0 victory, once again proving their absolute hegemony in continental football.

Decisive strike and historical success

The only goal that decided the fate of the match was scored in the middle of the second half:

In the 61st minute, South Korea national team forward Ji-Sung Eom took advantage of a gap in the opponent's defense and hit the Japanese goal, opening the score — 1:0.
Despite all the efforts of the Japan youth team to restore balance during the remaining time, they failed to break through the disciplined defense of the Koreans.

Third final victory over Japan

This success opened a new page in the history of South Korean football:

For the Koreans, this was their fourth consecutive championship at the Asian Games.
Notably, South Korea has won the cup by defeating their arch-rival, Japan, in the final of three consecutive tournaments.

Recall that in the 3rd-place match of this competition, the Uzbekistan U-23 national team lost to China in a penalty shootout (regular time 2:2, pens. 3:4) and finished the tournament in fourth place.