"No 'Hong Myung-bo World Cup Departure Ceremony': The Background of the 'Radical Decision' After 40 Years"

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean national football team set to compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America will depart immediately without holding a domestic friendly match to mark its departure ceremony. It has been 40 years since the team headed to the final venue without any A-match friendly or exhibition match in Korea just before the World Cup.

According to the North America World Cup roadmap released by the Korea Football Association on the 16th, Coach Hong Myung-bo will announce the final 26-member roster for the North America World Cup on the 16th, depart for the United States two days later, and establish a pre-camp in Salt Lake City. Following this, the team will conduct two evaluation matches (opponent to be determined) locally and is scheduled to move to Guadalajara, Mexico, the "decisive battleground," on the 5th, one week before the start of the World Cup group stage.

The most notable feature of this roadmap is the absence of the World Cup departure ceremony. In recent years, the national football team has held a departure ceremony to pledge success at the World Cup after playing an A-match friendly or a friendly match in front of domestic fans, shortly before the final World Cup roster announcement. According to the Football Association, the last time the team traveled directly to the competition venue without playing any matches in Korea immediately before the World Cup was the 1986 Mexico World Cup, which marked the beginning of 11 consecutive World Cup finals appearances. Since the 1990 Italy World Cup, the team has always played a match in Korea immediately before the tournament—whether an A-match friendly or a friendly against a European or South American club team—before heading to the competition venue or a pre-tournament training camp.

This was also the case recently. During the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the final friendly match against Iceland was held at Hwaseong Sports Complex about two weeks before the tournament's opening game. Coach Paulo Bento, who led a squad of domestic players, participated in the final friendly and announced the final World Cup roster the following day. During the 2018 Russia World Cup under coach Shin Tae-yong, the final friendly match, which also served as the team's departure ceremony, was held against Bosnia and Herzegovina at Jeonju World Cup Stadium. Similarly, during the 2014 Brazil World Cup under coach Hong Myung-bo, the final friendly match, also serving as the departure ceremony, was held against Tunisia at Seoul World Cup Stadium.

The absence of a pre-World Cup departure ceremony in Korea, which had become a customary practice, stems from a combination of factors, including a tight schedule due to being placed in the very first group of the group stage and a significant reduction in the proportion of domestic-based players in the national team. A Korea Football Association official explained, "With a large number of overseas-based players and being in the first group (Group A) of the World Cup, it is difficult to secure a schedule for returning to Korea to play a match before departing." In fact, Korea's first match of the North American World Cup, the Group Stage match against Czechia, will have the second-earliest kickoff among all World Cup matches. It is also unrealistic to organize a departure ceremony in Korea after the national team's initial domestic gathering and then depart, or to return to Korea after pre-World Cup training in the United States, hold a departure ceremony, and then depart again for Mexico.

Just as during the Qatar World Cup, it is virtually impossible to field a squad composed entirely of domestic players, excluding European-based players, for a departure ceremony. By the time the final World Cup roster is scheduled to be announced, K League 1 midweek matches are already set for three to four days prior. Additionally, the fact that only nine of the 26th players selected for last month's European away friendly matches were playing in Asian leagues — highlighting the significant proportion of European-based players in Hong Myung-bo's national team — is considered a key reason why planning a departure ceremony focused primarily on domestic players was difficult from the outset.

The recent poor attendance at A-match games may also be one of the reasons why the Korea Football Association (KFA) insisted on not holding a domestic departure ceremony. In fact, the attendance for the A-match friendly against Paraguay held at Seoul World Cup Stadium last October was only 22,206, and the match against Ghana a month later drew just 33,256 spectators. Despite being on the eve of the World Cup, interest and support for Hong Myung-bo's team have significantly declined. Had there been intense interest in the national team and "sell-out level enthusiasm" continued, the KFA might have considered a scenario to hold the World Cup departure ceremony even if it meant going to great lengths. Unlike South Korea, the Japan national football team held its World Cup departure ceremony on the 31st, half a month after announcing its final roster, before heading to the decisive venue, which follows the same logic.

Meanwhile, the first-team coaching staff, including head coach Hong Myung-bo, departed on the 18th, while overseas-based players will join the squad sequentially in the host country according to their club schedules. With the quarterfinal matchup approaching, either Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) or Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) is expected to participate in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) final scheduled for late May 2025–2026, meaning full-team training will likely not be feasible until early June. The training camp in Salt Lake City, where the Korean national team is preparing, is located at an altitude of 1,460 meters, similar to Guadalajara (1,500 meters), where the group stage matches 1 and 2 will be held. The Korea Football Association expects the high-altitude acclimatization process to be smoother due to comparable climate conditions, including temperature and humidity. The opponents and schedules for the two friendly matches to be held locally will be announced at a later date. South Korea's first World Cup match is set for the 12th at 11:00 a.m. (Korean time) against the Czech Republic.

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*This content was translated by AI.