Park Moon-seong, a Korean commentator, expressed outrage over the shock elimination, stating, "It's not just about Hong Myung-bo stepping down immediately; how will he take responsibility? Don't tell me he'll use this World Cup as a lesson and then work hard for the Asian Cup..."

*This content was translated by AI.

In the end, there was no miracle. The South Korean national football team was eliminated at the Round of 48 stage.

On the 28th (Korean time), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (hereinafter Congo) secured a 3-1 comeback victory against Uzbekistan (hereinafter Uzbek) in the final Group K match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage held at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta, USA.

As a result, Colombia (2 wins, 1 draw, 7 points) finished first, and Portugal (1 win, 2 draws, 5 points) finished second, both advancing to the Round of 32. Congo, having defeated Uzbek, recorded 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss (4 points), securing third place in Group K and simultaneously claiming the Round of 32 ticket allocated to the top eight third-place teams. Meanwhile, Uzbek, which had qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time in its history, concluded the tournament with three consecutive losses.

Congo's victory confirmed South Korea's elimination. For South Korea to continue its faint hope, Uzbek would have needed to avoid defeat against Congo. However, with Uzbek suffering a comeback loss, South Korea dropped to ninth among third-place teams, and elimination was confirmed regardless of the remaining Group J match results.

The South Korean national team is now expected to return home shortly. Some players are anticipated to immediately return to their respective clubs from the local area and begin preparations for the upcoming season.

On this day, commentator Park Moon-seong watched the match live on his YouTube channel 'Dalsu-ne Live' under the title "Elimination or Round of 32? The final group stage match of fate hanging on the 8th place cliff."

As Congo staged a comeback, effectively sealing South Korea's elimination, commentator Park, as if having waited for this moment, poured out everything he had been holding back.

Commentator Park said, "South Korea, despite having resources like Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, and Kim Min-jae, was eliminated at the Round of 48. This is equivalent to failing to qualify for the World Cup finals," unable to hide his anger.

He continued, "The draw was truly a 'honey group.' Do you think you can easily face Mexico, South Africa, and the Czech Republic in the World Cup? Look at Japan; they faced the Netherlands and Sweden. Where else do you see matches like this?" while expressing his frustration.

Commentator Park added, "What made me even angrier was Hong Myung-bo's interview after the South Africa match. Coach Hong said, 'I don't know what went wrong.' Then he said, 'If I have to take responsibility, I will take responsibility,' but it sounded like, 'Since you say it's our fault, I'll admit it,' raising his voice."

He then stated, "I believe Hong Myung-bo should step down immediately. Don't tell me he'll say, 'We'll use this World Cup as a lesson and work hard for the Asian Cup?' It's not just about stepping down; how exactly will he take responsibility? He ruined the entire World Cup tournament and ruined the players' careers as well," unleashing a torrent of criticism.

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*This content was translated by AI.