"The demand for the dismissal of director Hong Myung-bo is growing louder."" South African media lighting

*This content was translated by AI.

At the 2026 FIFA 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup, a South African media outlet in the same group as South Korea shed light on the critical atmosphere in Korea toward coach Hong Myung-bo.

South African soccer media Kickoff said on the 9th (Korea Standard Time), "South Africa's World Cup opponent, the head coach of the Korean national team, is in crisis," adding, "Coach Hong Myung-bo is facing calls to replace the coach ahead of the opening of the tournament. Some even question whether South Korea can beat South Africa," he said.

The media said, "Korea had two important warm-up matches with Ivory Coast and Austria last month. In particular, the match against Ivory Coast was promoted by the Korean Football Association to prepare for the South African national team, he said. "However, South Korea lost 0-1 to Austria after losing 0-4 to Ivory Coast."

"Since the A match warm-up match, demands for the replacement of coach Hong Myung-bo have been growing in Korea," he said, adding, "Many experts and soccer commentators are also criticizing coach Hong Myung-bo."

In fact, South Korea, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, is in a tight spot after losing to Ivory Coast and Austria in two consecutive away European warm-up matches last month. The two consecutive warm-up matches against Ivory Coast and Austria were also the last warm-up matches for Hong Myung-bo Team ahead of the final list of 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup scheduled for mid-May.

In addition to the results, criticism against Hong Myung-bo Team has also intensified ahead of the World Cup, as the completeness of the three-back tactic that head coach Hong Myung-bo is using as Plan A is still exposed. In other words, they are missing both the performance and results just before the World Cup at a time when they have not been able to support much amid controversy over fairness related to the appointment process of head coach Hong Myung-bo.

Even in South Africa, which has to face South Korea in the World Cup, the atmosphere surrounding Hong Myung-bo Team is of great interest. South Africa is also South Korea's final opponent in the group stage, and in some cases, it may be a showdown of fate that determines whether the group stage passes or not. South Korea is the second highest in Group A at 25th, and South Africa is the lowest at 60th.

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*This content was translated by AI.