Korea/Japan Asian Cup. sigh

It's that sporting time again. Korea vs. Japan. The time when, win or lose, it will be miserable to be in Korea for the rest of the week. My friend David posted on this topic during the world cup, noting his pleasure in watching deflated Koreans after a big loss. However, I thought they took the loss well during the soccer world cup, but that was to Uruguay. This is Japan.

The 2009 Baseball World Cup Finals. Korea/Japan. Japan, the best team in the world beats Korea, the fourth best in extra innings by a score of 5-3 when Ichiro Suzuki, maybe the best (non-power) hitter of the last 50 years, hit a two run double to clinch it for Japan. Probable Korean responses:

1- proud that they got in over the U.S and Venezuela who are both superior teams?
2- proud to take the best national team in the world to extra innings?
3- whine and complain of Japanese cheating, Ichiro cheating, unfair scheduling and cite how they beat Japan in the group stages and then play that game on TV everyday for 6 months?

If you guessed 3 you are correct.

"Ichiro badmouthed Korea"
- he said he thought that his team was in top shape and felt that they could win. He also said (when asked) that Japan was the number one ranked team, and so yes, was better than Korea by that standard.

"the umpire wasn't fair"
- first, which umpire? Second, what play? No answer

"we beat Japan in the group stages! We beat them 3 times but they only beat us twice so we won"
- Japan rested top players in different group stages, especially as the played Taiwan before Korea did. Everyone knew what the final was and both sides played their top players in that game and Japan won.

"the schedule was unfair!"
- see Taiwan remark above


On the flip side, the games where Korea won were played over and over again on TV (only to be stopped with Yuna Kim and the Olympics, which you can STILL see on TV repeated in all it's glory).

Now it's soccer. So will Korea win and revel in it worse than a NZ test rugby victory over Aus or a Canadian hockey world cup victory over the US (to which the American replies "there's a hockey world cup?"), or will Japan cheat, bribe and otherwise steal the victory from Korea?