Even 中, who can't make it to the World Cup, mocked Hong Myung-bo, saying, "One Hong Myung-bo Team is good... "You only know how to beat China"

*This content was translated by AI.

Even China, which has been far from the finals since it was eliminated early in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup, is pouring out sneering at the fall of Korean soccer. China's local media and fans are reacting mockingly to Hong Myung-bo Team's 0-4 complete defeat by Ivory Coast.

Chinese media Sohu Dotcom focused on the results of the match between South Korea and Ivory Coast on the 29th (Korea Standard Time). The article attracted explosive attention in China, including the top spot in real-time views, and hundreds of comments were posted in an instant, creating an atmosphere that seemed to enjoy the crisis in Korean soccer.

The comment that gained the most sympathy was a mockery of South Korea, which was defeated by Ivory Coast. A Chinese soccer fan sarcastically said, "It's great, why are you disgraced for touching Ivory Coast for nothing?" and criticized Hong Myung-bo Team's defeat.

In addition, "Korea only acts as king when there are no tigers. There were also several reactions that undermined both the country and Korean soccer, saying, "You only know how to beat China, and when you meet a real strong team, you will see your skills."

Some fans have undermined Korea's situation by comparing it to Japan. "Japanese soccer is now No. 1 in Asia. He did not hesitate to point out painful points, such as "Korea cannot win without buying referees" and "Korea cannot win because of its innate physical limitations, no matter how good the technology is."

Even "Korea is better off playing against China. There was even a lot of ridicule, such as "Let's put low-quality teams together."

Hong Myung-bo Team's performance was so lethargic that even such ridicule could not be refuted. In the match against Ivory Coast at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, England on the 28th, South Korea destroyed itself by allowing four runs even after operating the best defense, including Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich).

On this day, coach Hong Myung-bo used a back three tactic that led to Kim Tae-hyun, Kim Min-jae, and Cho Yoo-min in preparation for the strong teams to meet in the finals.

But the ambitious three-back card was useless in the face of Ivory Coast's personal skills. In particular, the right defensive line, where Cho Yoo-min was deployed, was thoroughly attacked by opposing wingers Marcial Godot and Simone Adingra, providing an excuse for the loss. Even though Kim Min-jae struggled to cover a wide range, the limit was clear to fill the already cracked defense alone.

In the fifth minute of the first half, Cho Yoo-min scored the first goal after being pushed back from the altitude and the struggle, and in the extra time of the first half, Adingra was unable to control the movement of turning against Cho Yoo-min at all and allowed additional runs.

The situation was even worse in the second half. Yang Hyun-joon's ambiguous header handling in the corner kick situation became a source of concern and dedicated the third goal, and just before the end of the game, the defense completely collapsed with a counterattack and was beaten to the fourth goal.

On the other hand, Mexico, which faces South Korea in the World Cup finals, proved its potential with a 0-0 draw against European powerhouse Portugal. In addition, South Korea will meet European playoff pass D (Denmark or Czech Republic) and South Africa in the group stage.

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*This content was translated by AI.