'Shock defeat at South Africa Cup' Hong Myung-bo: "The result is my responsibility as the coach"

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean national football team failed to secure a spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup North America 32-team tournament, and Hong Myung-bo, the head coach of the South Korean national team, stated, "The poor result is my responsibility as the coach."

Coach Hong Myung-bo made these remarks in a broadcast interview after the team's 0-1 defeat against South Africa in the Group A third match of the tournament held at the Monterrey Stadium in Mexico on the 25th (Korea time), which saw them drop to third place in the group and miss out on the 32nd-team tournament.

On this day, South Korea could have advanced to the 32nd-team tournament in second place in the group with just a draw against South Africa, but the loss left them with 3 points (1 win, 2 losses), falling behind Mexico (9 points) and South Africa (4 points) to finish third in the group. FIFA rankings show South Korea at 25th and South Africa at 60th.

In this tournament, the top two teams from each group advance to the 32nd-team tournament, and the top eight teams among the 12 third-place finishers based on their records also advance to the 32nd-team tournament. After failing to qualify for the 32nd-team tournament on their own, South Korea must now aim to advance through a third-place finish.

After the match, Coach Hong Myung-bo said, "I think we were anxious in managing the game after conceding the first goal," and added, "While conceding the first goal is regrettable, I believe the players did their best."

When asked about the substitution of Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Coach Hong briefly replied, "He was substituted due to a calf injury." He then added, "They did their best until the end, but the poor result is my responsibility as the coach," and stated, "I do not know how the schedule will unfold in the future, but regarding the match result, it is the coach's responsibility."

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*This content was translated by AI.