The South Korean national soccer team suffered a shocking defeat to South Africa, failing to secure a direct spot in the knockout stage. Coach Hong Myung-bo stated that he takes full responsibility for the loss.
Under Hong's leadership, South Korea lost 1-0 to South Africa in their final Group A match at Monterrey Stadium on June 25 at 10 a.m. KST.
With this defeat, South Korea finished the group stage with a record of 1 win and 2 losses, earning 3 points. Meanwhile, Mexico secured the top spot in the group with a 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic, finishing with 9 points, while South Africa moved to second place with 4 points (1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss).
As a result, South Korea dropped to third place. Fortunately, Mexico's win over the Czech Republic allowed South Korea to avoid an automatic exit from the tournament.
In a post-match press conference, Hong said, "In such a major tournament, the results are the coach's responsibility. Ultimately, everything was based on my judgment and decisions."
Notably, Hong left captain Son Heung-min (LAFC) out of the starting lineup for the first time since he began participating in World Cup matches in 2014. Hong explained, "I believed it would be better to bring Son in after the first half when there would be more space available against a stronger opponent."
Throughout the match, South Korea displayed a lackluster performance, failing to register a single shot on target in the first half and only managing three in the second half. In contrast, South Africa took 13 shots during the game.
Hong acknowledged the team's struggles, stating, "While there could be various reasons for the outcome, I believe the results ultimately fall on the coach. I made poor judgments and decisions, leading to this unfavorable result. There is nothing more to it."
Regarding the players' performance, he noted, "The team did not exhibit any signs of collective food poisoning or other uncontrollable factors. While the performance was not good, it was indeed our worst match of the group stage." He added, "We made mistakes in the center, which led to a loss of confidence. After conceding a goal, we became anxious, which ultimately resulted in our defeat."
South Korea's chances of advancing to the knockout stage now hang in the balance. This tournament features 48 teams, with the top two teams from each group and the eight best third-place teams advancing to the Round of 32. South Korea will need to monitor the results of other groups to determine their fate.
The outlook is not promising. At the time of the South Korea-South Africa match, six other third-place teams had already secured at least 3 points. Notably, Paraguay (Group D), Sweden (Group F), Algeria (Group J), and Croatia (Group L) have all recorded 3 points while having one match remaining.
If two or more teams finish with the same points in the third-place standings, rankings will be determined by goal difference, total goals scored, fair play points, and FIFA rankings. Currently, South Korea has a goal difference of -1 and has scored 2 goals.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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