"Welcome party is a luxury": Hong Myung-bo's team has no return ceremony for the first time in 36 years... Will Coach Hong Myung-bo announce his future tomorrow?

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean national football team, which failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, will disband quietly without a separate return ceremony.

On the 25th (Korean time), South Korea recorded one win and two losses (third in Group A) after losing the final Group A match against South Africa, and waited for the results of other group matches. However, in the final Group K match held on the 28th, the Democratic Republic of the Congo came back to defeat Uzbekistan 3-1, resulting in a final failure to secure a spot in the 32nd-team knockout stage, which is reserved for the top eight teams among the 12 third-place teams.

The South Korean squad watched the Group K match while having a meal at their hotel, and it was reported that they could not hide their sense of frustration when the Democratic Republic of the Congo scored consecutive goals.

The eliminated national team will quietly return to Korea. According to the Korea Football Association, due to difficulties in securing group airline tickets and safety concerns, the squad is expected to enter the country in several groups. Some overseas-based players will return directly to their clubs without passing through South Korea.

With the squad's arrival schedule staggered, the official return ceremony and media activities have been completely canceled. This marks the first time since the 1990 World Cup in Italy, where the team suffered three consecutive losses, that no return ceremony was held for the national team immediately after the World Cup — a gap of 36 years.

Meanwhile, Coach Hong Myung-bo will hold a press conference at the Mexico Guadalajara base camp on the morning of the 28th (local time) to state his position on the elimination. Hong Myung-bo's contract runs until the AFC Asian Cup in January next year, so attention is focused on whether he will make any remarks regarding his future.

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*This content was translated by AI.