'Monterey Disaster': Hong Myung-bo's Team Suffers Shocking 0-1 Defeat to 60th-Ranked South Africa... Plunges to Third in Group Amid 'Group Stage Elimination Crisis' [World Cup On-Site Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

It was truly a Monterey disaster. The South Korean national football team failed to qualify directly for the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Now, the team must compare its results with third-place teams from other groups and aim for one of the eight additional Round of 32 berths awarded to the top eight third-place teams.

Under manager Hong Myung-bo, South Korea lost 0-1 to South Africa in the third Group A match of the 2026 FIFA North, Central America and Caribbean World Cup group stage, held at the Monterrey Stadium on the 25th at 10 a.m. (Korea time). FIFA rankings place South Korea at 25th and South Africa at 60th.

On this day, South Korea could have qualified directly for the Round of 32 by securing a second-place finish in the group with just a draw against South Africa. However, the defeat left South Korea with only three points (one win, two losses), dropping them to third place in the group behind Mexico (nine points) and South Africa (four points).

In this tournament, the top two teams from each group advance directly to the Round of 32. Additionally, the eight best-performing third-place teams among the 12th groups earn additional spots in the Round of 32. South Korea will now have to await the results of other group matches and compare its standing with third-place teams from other groups to determine its fate.

If South Korea qualifies for the Round of 32 via the third-place route, it would face either Germany, who has already secured first place in Group E, or the first-place team from Group G, which includes Egypt, Iran, Belgium, and New Zealand.

South Korea fielded a 3-4-1-2 formation with Son Heung-min (LAFC), the captain and star player, on the bench, while Oh Hyeon-gyu (Besiktas) and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers) were deployed as the front two. Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) played as an attacking midfielder.

Lee Tae-seok (Austria Vienna), Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City), and Seol Young-woo (Crvena Zvezda) were positioned in midfield. The defense was built by Lee Ki-hyuk (Gangwon FC), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and Lee Han-beom (Midtjylland), with Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo) guarding the goal.

From the first half, ominous signs were everywhere. South Korea was tactically dragged along completely. Unlike South Korea, South Africa was in a situation where a win was absolutely necessary, so they pushed their line up and relentlessly exploited the spaces behind South Korea's defense.

South Korea struggled to break through the attack. Starting with a one-on-one chance conceded to South Africa's Mopoken in the fourth minute of the first half, the defensive line showed constant instability, including Lee Ki-hyuk diving to block a shot by Maseko in the 19th minute.

After the middle of the first half, the defense and midfield were completely out of sync, allowing consecutive shots from Mbata and Makgopa due to a passing error by Lee Ki-hyuk, barely escaping a crisis that was no different from conceding a goal.

As the frustrating flow continued, manager Hong Myung-bo immediately made a bold substitution at the start of the second half. He brought on Son Heung-min, Jens Cajuste (Borussia Mönchengladbach), and Kim Jin-gyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors) simultaneously, replacing Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Tae-seok, and Baek Seung-ho. Son Heung-min was positioned as a left attacker, while Cajuste was deployed as a left defender to implement tactical changes.

However, even after the substitutions, the flow of the match did not change significantly. South Korea struggled immensely to break through South Africa's tight defensive wall, while South Africa continued to easily dismantle the spaces behind South Korea's defense with a single pass.

Eventually, the inevitable happened. In the 18th minute of the second half, defensive concentration collapsed like dominoes, exposing space. Seizing the opportunity, South Africa's Maseko fired a sharp left-footed shot from the front of the arc that precisely found the far right corner of the South Korean goal. Kim Seung-gyu dove and stretched his hand, but it was not enough.

With Kim Min-jae removed and replaced by Park Jin-seop (Zhejiang FC) to adjust the defense rather than simply adding more attackers, manager Hong Myung-bo, who was in a desperate situation, made a change to the defensive line. Later, Cho Gue-sung (Midtjylland) replaced Oh Hyeon-gyu. Despite the need to place greater emphasis on attack, the 3-4-2-1 formation remained unchanged.

Despite the urgent need for a goal, the frustrating flow continued. Even with the opponent building a thick defensive wall, South Korea continued with only limited attacking plays rather than increasing the number of attackers. High ball possession meant nothing. South Korea ultimately failed to turn the tide and lost 0-1 to South Africa. Amid the Monterey disaster that will remain in South Korean World Cup history, the question of whether South Korean football will reach the Round of 32 now depends on monitoring the situation in other groups.

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*This content was translated by AI.