Japan conceded the World Cup berth to South Korea one more time despite a 1–0 derby win in 1994.

[7] Its revival was steadily expected by the press,[8][9][10] but on the contrary, there were no "A" team matches between the two countries for ten years between 2011 and 2021, apart from the games at the EAFF Championship.

[11] South Korea overwhelmingly led the first 50 matches with 32 wins, 11 draws and 7 losses, but the rivalry has become a very close contest since the early 1990s following the establishment of the J.League.

[7] From 2021 to 2023, South Korea suffered five consecutive defeats against Japan at all age levels of men's football, all by the same scoreline of 3–0, including the "A" team friendly on 25 March 2021.

Japan's coach Vahid Halilhodžić played with his third squad and lost to South Korea 4–1 in Tokyo at the 2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship,[30] leading to heavy domestic criticism and contributing to him being sacked just before the 2018 FIFA World Cup.