Son Heung-min also experiences unprecedented humiliation; will his last dance end so futilely?

*This content was translated by AI.

The possibility that South Korean national football team captain Son Heung-min (34, LAFC) will see his World Cup "last dance" end in vain has grown significantly. This is due to the humiliating situation where Coach Hong Myung-bo's team must compare its results with third-place teams from other groups without even advancing from the group stage. Son Heung-min, too, has failed to shine under Coach Hong Myung-bo, being excluded from the starting lineup for a World Cup match for the first time in history and managing to accumulate only one attacking point.

South Korea, led by Coach Hong Myung-bo, lost 0-1 to South Africa in the third group stage match of the 2026 FIFA North, Central America and Caribbean World Cup held at the Monterrey Stadium on the 25th (Korea time). FIFA rankings show South Korea at 25th and South Africa at 60th. On this day, a draw against South Africa would have secured South Korea's direct advancement to the Round of 32 as the second-place team in the group. However, after playing poorly throughout the match, South Korea conceded a decisive first goal in the 18th minute of the second half, suffering a shocking defeat.

With this defeat, South Korea remains with 3 points (1 win, 2 losses), trailing behind Mexico (9 points) and South Africa (4 points), finishing third in the group. In this tournament, the top two teams from each group and the eight best-performing third-place teams among the 12th groups advance to the Round of 32 tournament. South Korea has failed to qualify for the Round of 32 on its own merit and now faces a situation where it must compare its results with third-place teams from other groups. Instead of earning a spot in the Round of 32 through skill, the team must now wait for the results of other groups after completing all group stage matches and leave the outcome to chance.

The situation that is most regrettable is undoubtedly Son Heung-min's. Born in 1992, Son Heung-min is very likely to consider this World Cup his final tournament given his age. The primary reason he left the English Premier League (EPL) and transferred to LAFC in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States was also to compete in the World Cup at his peak condition. One of the main reasons this World Cup attracted attention was the high possibility of it being Son Heung-min's World Cup "last dance."

However, Son Heung-min's presence rarely shone throughout the tournament. At the center of this issue is Coach Hong Myung-bo's disappointing utilization, which placed Son Heung-min in a position that did not suit him, limited his playing time, and even led to his "first-ever exclusion from the starting lineup." In fact, Coach Hong Myung-bo started Son Heung-min as the lone striker in both the previous matches against Czechia and Mexico. Subsequently, he brought him off the field in the 24th minute of the second half against Czechia and in the 12th minute of the second half against Mexico.

Son Heung-min's poor performance, missing all six shooting opportunities in the Czechia match, was regrettable. In the end, Oh Hyeon-gyu (Besiktas), who was substituted in, scored the winning comeback goal, which was praised as a tactical masterstroke by Coach Hong Myung-bo. However, in the subsequent match against Mexico, neither Son Heung-min's starting card nor his substitution card proved effective. Instead, criticisms arose that Son Heung-min's substitution timing (12th minute of the second half) was too early, and that he should have been positioned on the wing rather than as the central striker.

The crucial final group stage match determining South Korea's advancement to the Round of 32. In response to the controversy over Son Heung-min's utilization, Coach Hong Myung-bo's answer was not a positional shift but "exclusion from the starting lineup." Coach Hong placed Oh Hyeon-gyu at the front, with Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) on both wings to form the attack. Instead, Son Heung-min was left on the bench. This marks the first time Son Heung-min, who made his World Cup debut at the 2014 Brazil tournament, has been excluded from the starting lineup for a World Cup match. After the match, Coach Hong explained, "I judged it would be better to score when the opponent tires and spaces open up."

Son Heung-min was substituted in immediately at the start of the second half. However, less than 20 minutes after Son Heung-min entered the field, South Korea conceded the first goal. Contrary to Coach Hong Myung-bo's plan, South Africa built a thick defensive wall, eliminating any space. Against such a South Africa, Coach Hong Myung-bo failed to produce any effective solution. After repeatedly launching meaningless attacks without even changing tactics, the match ultimately ended in a 0-1 defeat for South Korea. Son Heung-min's expression was filled with regret and frustration over the loss.

Son Heung-min, who failed to record an attacking point on this day as well, ultimately failed to record an attacking point in three group stage matches of the World Cup finals for the first time in his debut. Except for this World Cup, he had recorded attacking points in the group stage of every tournament up to the 2022 Qatar World Cup. However, in this World Cup where he reunited with Coach Hong Myung-bo, he remained silent for the first time. For Son Heung-min and fans alike, there is no way to avoid feeling regret over every one of Coach Hong's decisions, including the limited playing time throughout the tournament, the first-ever exclusion from the starting lineup, and his positioning. These were also choices by Coach Hong that could even lead to humiliation for Son Heung-min.

The bigger problem is that if South Korea falls behind in the comparison of results with third-place teams from other groups and is eliminated from the Round of 32, Son Heung-min's North, Central America and Caribbean World Cup journey could end in vain. Although Son Heung-min has never directly declared this to be his last World Cup, various circumstances suggest that it is highly likely that a period will be marked on his World Cup "last dance." This is a conclusion that neither Son Heung-min nor the fans would have wanted.

After the match, Son Heung-min said, "It's an ironic situation whether I should call it regrettable or pitiful. Waiting for the results of other groups was personally a situation I did not want. It is regrettable that such a result came out despite the efforts of many players, but now it is a matter beyond our control. Whatever the outcome, I think we must accept it." He added, "Now is the time for us to coldly and comprehensively examine what went wrong from a realistic perspective."

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*This content was translated by AI.