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South Korea’s 2026 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup campaign ended at the group stage on Saturday, piling pressure on head coach Hong Myung-bo and raising fresh uncertainty over captain Son Heung-min’s future.
The Koreans finished third in Group A behind co-hosts Mexico and South Africa after opening the tournament with a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic before suffering consecutive 1-0 defeats to Mexico and South Africa.
After three days of anxious waiting to see if they would squeeze into the knockout rounds as one of the eight third-placed finishers, results went against South Korea to send them home.
Hong faced heavy criticism following the defeat to South Africa after opting to leave Son on the bench in a tactical decision that failed to produce the desired result.
Local media Yonhap News Agency described the campaign as a major disappointment, with reports characterising the early exit as humiliating and questioning the team’s performances throughout the tournament.
“The national team suffered the humiliation of a 2026 World Cup group-stage exit after three days of agonising hope,” Yonhap said.
The elimination has also fuelled speculation that Son, who turns 34 next month, could retire from international football. The former Tottenham Hotspur forward, now with Los Angeles FC, has previously hinted that he may be nearing the end of his national team career after scoring 56 goals for South Korea.
President Lee Jae Myung also reacted to the team’s exit on Sunday, criticising the leadership and selection process that led to Hong’s appointment.
He argued that prioritising loyalty over competence inevitably produced poor results, apologised to the public for the disappointing match, and pledged reforms to the country’s sports administration to prevent similar failures in future.
“When loyalty and factionalism are valued over competence, and incompetent people are appointed to leadership positions, the outcome is all but inevitable,” Lee said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“I offer my deepest apologies to the public for the profound disappointment caused by this unacceptable outcome,” he added.
“We will move swiftly to reform sports administration to ensure that nothing like this happens again,” he said, without elaborating.
