'Shock reappointment declaration or final resignation?' Coach Hong Myung-bo to hold official press conference [World Cup On-Site Issues]

*This content was translated by AI.

With South Korea's elimination from the World Cup group stage confirmed, South Korea national team coach Hong Myung-bo is expected to soon stand before reporters and personally announce his future plans.

According to a Korea Football Association official, Coach Hong Myung-bo is scheduled to hold an official press conference on the 28th (local time) at Chivas Verde Valle in Guadalajara, Zapopan, Mexico, which serves as the base camp for the South Korean national team.

At this event, Coach Hong is expected to present a final assessment of the group stage disaster at the North, Central America and Caribbean World Cup and directly announce his clear stance on his future course of action.

Currently, all attention from football fans is focused entirely on Coach Hong's words. Although the original contract stipulated a term until the 2027 AFC Saudi Arabia Asian Cup, public opinion has deteriorated to its worst level given that the historic opportunity of the first-ever 48-team format was squandered so ineffectively. South Korea was drawn into Group A with host Mexico, Czechia, and the weakest team, South Africa, and was initially praised for having the best possible draw. Despite starting favorably with a 2-1 victory over Czechia in the first match, the team ultimately self-destructed by consistently employing a complete lack of tactics.

In particular, the fatal error of conceding a goal in the Mexico match (0-1) and the subsequent crushing 0-1 defeat against South Africa in the final third match, where a draw would have sufficed, dealt a critical blow. After losing the chance for direct qualification, the team waited for results from other groups, but only one of the nine possible scenarios materialized (Spain 1-0 Uruguay), as the Democratic Republic of the Congo defeated Uzbekistan 3-1 and Algeria drew 3-3 with Austria. This confirmed an early exit at 34th place.

As a result, Korean football has produced a flood of shameful records, including the lowest-ever World Cup ranking in 44 years since 1982 and failing to score in two consecutive group stage matches for the first time in 36 years. Facing this early elimination disaster for the first time since the 2018 Russia tournament, eight years later, the players stood stunned with their heads bowed.

Coach Hong Myung-bo, who participated in the World Cup for the first time in 12 years since the lowest-ever finish at the 2014 Brazil tournament, has once again collapsed completely after stubbornly sticking to his tactics. Football circles are now turning their gaze toward the Guadalajara base camp to see whether he will declare a direct breakthrough by using his contract period as a shield to continue until the Asian Cup, or whether he will resign the coaching staff after failing to withstand the critical public opinion.

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*This content was translated by AI.