Asian Champions Trophy 2023: South Korea vs Japan preview, head-to-head, prediction and streaming details

Modified Aug 03, 2023 12:48 IST

(Image Credits: Mohamed Farzan/Sportskeeda)

South Korea vs Japan match will be hosted at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai at 4 PM IST as the first match of the Asian Champions Trophy 2023.

In a repeat of a last year's final, defending champions South Korea and Japan will face off in the first match at Chennai. South Korea edged past Japan in the penalty shootout in the final of the 2021 Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka.

Both teams will be returning to the international arena for the first time since the World Cup 2023 in January. Notably, Japan has lost all their recent five international matches and their last international victory came in 2022 against Pakistan in the FIH Nations Cup.

South Korea, on the other hand, had lost three out of their last five matches. The team's last international win came against Argentina through Penalty Shootout in the World Cup 2023. Notably, Japan and South Korea also faced in the 2023 World Cup, which South Korea won by 2-1.

South Korea vs Japan Match Details

Match Details: South Korea vs Japan, Asian Champions Trophy 2023

Date & Time: August 3, 2023 (4 pm IST)

Venue: Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium, Chennai

South Korea vs Japan Head to Head

South Korea and Japan will meet for the first time since their face-off in the World Cup, which went South Korea's way. In fact, South Korea has dominated Japan in the last 15 matches, where they have won 10 times and drew thrice against Japan.

Matches Played: 15

South Korea: 10

Japan: 2

Draw: 3

(Since 2012)

South Korea vs Japan Squads

Japan

Takashi Yoshikawa, Kitagawa, Shota Yamada, Manabu Yamashita, Masaki Ohashi, Kirishita, Fujishima, Yamato Kawahara, Kaito Tanaka, Seren Tanaka, Takuma Niwa, Ken Nagayoshi, Taiki Takade, Genki Mitani, Kentaro Fukunda, Ryosei Kato, Kosei Kawabe, Yuma Nagai, Ooka Ryoma

South Korea

Jaehan Kim, Jaehyeon Kim, Jonghyun Jang, S Lee, Jihun Yang, HyeonHong Kim, Gangsan Lee, Kim Kyubeom, Manjae Jung, Jungjun Lee, Hyeseung Lee, J Lee, HyeongJin Kim, Dain Son, J Kim, Park Cheoleon, Junwoo Jeong, Namyong Lee, Taeil Hwang, Sunghyun Kim, Woocheon Ji, Daehyun Kim, Hyun Jigwang, Junghoo Kim

South Korea vs Japan Probable XI

Japan

Takashi Yoshikawa, Shota Yamada, Masaki Ohashi, Yamato Kawahara, Kaito Tanaka, Seren Tanaka, Taiki Takade, Kentaro Fukunda, Ryosei Kato, Kosei Kawabe, Ooka Ryoma

South Korea

Jaehyeon Kim, Jonghyun Jang, Jihun Yang, Hyeon Hong Kim, Hyeseung Lee, Dain Son, Namyong Lee, Taeil Hwang, Woocheon Ji, Hyun Jigwang, Junghoo Kim

South Korea vs Japan Prediction

South Korea has dominated Japan over the years and has won their last five encounters, including the last edition's final. They are expected to begin their title defence on a high note by winning this game.

South Korea will depend on the veteran Jang Jong Hyun to lead from the front. The 39-year-old was also a part of the 2007 Asia Cup in Chennai, where South Korea ended with a silver medal.

Match Prediction: South Korea to defeat Japan in the 1st match of Asian Champions Trophy 2023