'The Tragedy of Hong Myung-bo's Team': Koo Ja-cheol on "The Players Are Pitiful" — Excluding Son Heung-min from the Starting Lineup Led to the Game Being Dragged On

*This content was translated by AI.

Koo Ja-cheol (36), a midfielder who once dominated Korean football as a representative of the nation, could not hide his regret over the poor performance.

The South Korean national football team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo (FIFA ranking 25th), lost 0-1 to South Africa (FIFA ranking 60th) in the third group stage match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Group A, held at the Monterrey Stadium in Mexico on the 25th (Korean time).

As a result, the South Korean national team was pushed to third place in the group, failing to advance to the round of 32 on its own. In a match played at the same time, Mexico, which defeated the Czech Republic 3-0, secured first place in the group with nine points. South Africa advanced to the round of 32 in second place in the group.

On this day, South Korea could have secured second place in the group on its own by earning just one point from a draw against South Africa. Had South Korea finished second in the group, it would have faced Canada in the round of 32, with a smooth path to the round of 16 within reach. However, after suffering a blow from South Africa, the team now faces an uncertain path.

Of course, South Korea's final elimination has not yet been confirmed. The results of other third-place teams in the groups must be awaited. With third-place teams from a total of 12 groups, the top eight among them can advance to the round of 32.

After the match, the YouTube channel Shoot for Love released a video of Koo Ja-cheol and Seol Ki-hyeon watching the South Africa game together with announcer Lee Gwang-yong.

At this event, Koo Ja-cheol said, "When Park Ji-sung (the commentator) kept talking about the numbers of attackers and defenders, it meant that something was terribly wrong inside the stadium" as South Korea trailed 0-1 and the second half passed the 35th minute.

He continued, "Even though all substitutions were completed, it is possible to create numerical advantages by changing tactics for positions. I don't think we needed to keep going with a back three and place the weight at the back."

He further stated, "In the end, excluding (Son) Heung-min from the starting lineup actually caused the game to be dragged on."

Koo Ja-cheol also expressed his regret, saying, "Players like Eom Tae-seong and Lee Jae-sung, who were relied upon until now, are now on the field, and we should have been able to rely on them more."

He added, "If this happens, the team's atmosphere will be completely torn apart. When the game ends, all the players will be dissatisfied," as he cautiously predicted, having experienced the situation more than anyone else.

After the whistle signaling the end of the 90th-minute match, Koo Ja-cheol said, "First, changing the starting lineup was ultimately incorrect. This also led to making many substitutions early. Overall, it wasn't bad right from the start, but the more we played, the more mismatched parts emerged. The buildup play was also poor, which boosted South Africa's confidence and led to a goal."

He continued, "What was regrettable was that when (Kim) Min-jae came off, (Park) Jin-seop came on, but it was essentially just a positional substitution. In fact, the starting lineup failed, so we used three substitution cards after the first half ended. That left us with only two substitution cards remaining, which are actually very precious," expressing his regret.

Finally, when the announcer asked about the meaning of his earlier comment that "the players are pitiful," Koo Ja-cheol said, "Players who play in big clubs like this have had good experiences, and this squad, which combines new and old players, is a squad that doesn't exist in the world today..." revealing his regret before concluding, "We could have played better football and had higher expectations, and the players must have felt frustrated about these aspects."

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*This content was translated by AI.