Korea's blind football team presses on after 1-0 defeat to Japan

Korea’s men’s blind football team lost 1-0 to Japan in its third preliminary match at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games at Tsuruma Park Multipurpose Ground in Nagoya, Japan, on Monday.

The sport is played by athletes with a B1 medical-based parasports classification, or those who are completely blind and rely on sound to navigate the pitch.

Unlike conventional football, blind football is played five-a-side rather than 11-a-side, with four outfield players and one goalkeeper on each team. All outfield players must have a B1 classification, but goalkeepers can be partially or fully sighted since they need to see the ball to make saves.

Players rely on verbal instructions from their goalkeeper and coach, as well as a guide positioned behind the opposing goal. These three continuously communicate the state of the play, helping players navigate the pitch without falling or crashing into opponents. Defenders must also shout “Voy,” Spanish for “I’m going,” to avoid unnecessary collisions.

The rules exclude offsides or throw-ins, and teams can call timeouts to adjust their tactics during a match.

The pitch is the same size as a futsal court, and the ball contains bells inside so players can locate it by sound.

Korea won a bronze medal at the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Para Games but has since slipped to No. 23 in the world rankings.

Hwaseong City Hall is Korea’s only professional blind football team, and its players make up most of this year’s national squad.

Six countries — Korea, Japan, China, India, Iran and Thailand — are competing in the tournament. After a round-robin stage, the top two teams will advance to the gold-medal match, and third- and fourth-place will compete for bronze.

Korea opened the tournament with a 2-0 win over India, then suffered a 3-1 defeat to Iran in its second match.

For its third game, Korea faced longtime rival Japan. Although the team entered the match as the underdog, the fierce rivalry between the two countries and playing Japan on its home turf motivated the players.

“We were determined to fight even harder [than usual],” head manager Ji Jun-min said.

The Korean players had little choice but to draw strength from one another. Japan’s supporters packed the stadium, apart from a small section reserved for Korea’s fans. However, because blind football requires players to communicate through sound, spectators cannot cheer, and Korea avoided fully feeling the home crowd’s support for its opponent.

Korea adopted a defense-first strategy to create opportunities for counterattacks — a pragmatic approach against Japan, ranked No. 3 in the world.

But Japan took the lead just three minutes in, when star player Kenta Hayashi unleashed a powerful long-range shot.

Korea failed to register a single shot before halftime, but goalkeeper Lim Hyung-geun made several crucial saves and prevented Japan from extending its lead.

Although Korea’s own defense gradually improved, the team continued to struggle to break through Japan’s.

Korea finally registered its first shot one minute into the second half.

Jang Yeong-jun, who had scored both goals in Korea’s opening victory over India, collected the ball deep inside his own half and produced a brilliant solo dribble to create a one-on-one opportunity. However, the Japanese goalkeeper denied him an equalizer with a save.

Korea survived another scare in the 13th minute of the second half, when Japan’s Hiroto Takahashi struck the goalpost.

Despite fighting until the final whistle, Korea failed to equalize and saw its second defeat of the tournament.

“We gave everything against the world’s third-ranked team, but it’s disappointing that we couldn’t execute the plays that we had prepared,” Ji said after the match. “We prepared well defensively, but one mistake led to [Japan’s] goal and made the match difficult.”

“Only strong opponents remain for the remaining matches, but we’ll continue to do our best,” he added.

With one win and two losses, Korea must defeat China on Tuesday and Thailand on Wednesday to keep its hope for a medal alive.