Korea Faces Japan in Six Team Sports at Asian Games

Korea Faces Japan in Six Team Sports at Asian Games

Baseball, Football, Volleyball and Handball Among Potential Korea-Japan Clashes

Baseball Team Likely to Meet Japan on the 25th if It Tops Group B

Women's Handball Meets Japan on the 27th, Men's Hockey on the 28th

By Jung Moon-young Korea-Japan matchups are fought with such intensity that fans joke the two sides cannot afford to lose even a game of rock-paper-scissors. The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games carry added weight because it is the first Asian Games held in Japan in 32 years. Team ball sports draw particular attention, as athletes combine their efforts to produce results, giving the matches greater tension and significance.

Korea is competing in six team ball sports at the Asian Games — baseball and softball, football, basketball, volleyball, handball and hockey — according to organizers on the 15th. With each country fielding its representative athletes and Olympic berths at stake in some events, the contests are expected to go beyond simple rivalry.

Men's basketball delivered the first win in a Korea-Japan team ball matchup. The national team beat Japan 100-83 in Group A play that concluded on the 13th, an encouraging start to the tournament. Korea faces Jordan in the quarterfinals on the 16th. If both Korea and Japan advance through the semifinals, they will meet again in the final for the tournament's second Korea-Japan clash.

Baseball is also drawing strong interest. The national team, led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun, will face Japan — the likely winner of Group A — in the first game of the Super Round on the 25th if it edges out Taiwan to top Group B. If Korea beats Japan, it could meet Taiwan or Japan again in the final for the gold medal.

The softball team meets Japan, a strong title favorite, on the 30th. The match carries added meaning because Korean softball has yet to win a medal at the Asian Games and will be chasing its first against Japan.

In handball and hockey, the Korea-Japan matchups carry even greater weight. Both the men's and women's handball and hockey competitions feature each country's top players competing for the title. Women's handball is played as a seven-team round robin, with Korea facing Japan in its final game on the 27th — a contest that will effectively decide the gold medal. Korea lost to Japan by 10 points in the final of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, held in 2023. This time it is seeking revenge on Japanese soil. In men's handball, finishing in the top two of Group B would put Korea in a quarterfinal against the third- or fourth-place team from Group A for a semifinal spot. A meeting with Japan is unlikely before the semifinals.

Hockey's Korea-Japan matchup is also expected to be a turning point in the medal race. The men's team plays Japan in its final Group A game on the 28th. Korea must finish in the top two of the group to reach the semifinals, making Japan a must-beat opponent. The women's team is in a different group from Japan, so a matchup could come only from the semifinals onward. The winners of both the men's and women's hockey competitions earn direct berths to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, so both countries are expected to give everything in every game.

Football brings an inter-Korean matchup alongside the Korea-Japan rivalry. The men's team, chasing a fourth consecutive Asian Games title, is in Group D and cannot meet Japan of Group A or North Korea of Group B before the semifinals under the current draw. The women's team plays North Korea in its third Group F game on the 21st. It could face Japan in the semifinals if Korea finishes second in Group F, Japan tops Group E, and both win their quarterfinals.

In men's and women's volleyball and women's basketball, where Korea and Japan are in different groups, whether a Korea-Japan matchup takes place will depend on group-stage results.