"I really hate Hong Myung-bo." Lee Chun-soo explodes over the 2002 World Cup tragedy... "Get ready to quit everything"

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Chun-soo, a legend from the 2002 World Cup, vented his anger at his senior in Korean football and former South Korean national team head coach Hong Myung-bo.

On the 28th, Lee Chun-soo uploaded a video titled "I Have Something to Say" on his YouTube channel "Lee Chun-soo." At the event, he said, "Does it make sense that we failed in the World Cup because of a few people, including the Korea Football Association and Coach Hong Myung-bo?" He then mentioned the South Korean national team's poor performance in the 2026 FIFA North, Central America and Caribbean World Cup and the debate over Coach Hong's responsibility.

Lee Chun-soo said, "This is why I really hate Hong Myung-bo," adding, "He was given two chances to participate in the World Cup. As a football professional, I faced immense pressure and was constantly criticized, but now he says he isn't being criticized." He expressed his regret.

He then referred to the shocking defeat against South Africa in the final group stage match. Lee Chun-soo said, "Didn't we learn from the Algeria match? During the 2014 Brazil World Cup, we called Algeria a 'one-win sacrifice.' Back then, analysis was less developed and systems were not as advanced, but this is not the era anymore." The point was that despite the lessons from the 2014 Brazil World Cup defeat against Algeria, the same mistake was repeated in the South Africa match this time.

The South Africa match was held in Monterrey, Mexico, which was hot and humid. Former coach Hong stated before the match that he had prepared for the local conditions, but in the actual game, South Korean players appeared noticeably struggling. Lee Chun-soo attributed this to insufficient preparation and analysis for the South Africa match.

He said, "Their physical condition dropped too much. The players seemed stuck in the grass. Korean football has never experienced this before." He strongly criticized, "We knew the schedule, so why did you respond like this? As a coach with so much experience, don't you know about breathing difficulties and such when you come down?"

Former coach Hong's three-back tactic also came under fire. The criticism was that he insisted on the three-back formation without making any significant tactical changes. Lee Chun-soo raised his voice, saying, "He gave an interview before the World Cup saying he was considering a tactical change, but even after the worst performance in three matches, it didn't happen. He probably tried to go beyond a media question, but since he had nothing prepared, he didn't do it."

Regarding the North, Central America and Caribbean World Cup tragedy, Lee Chun-soo said, "This is a divine revelation that it is time for change," and strongly stated, "Get ready to quit everything."

South Korea achieved a disappointing result in the North, Central America and Caribbean World Cup. In this tournament, South Korea was drawn into Group A along with Mexico, Czechia, and South Africa. Immediately after the draw, most evaluations suggested they had drawn relatively easy opponents, but the result was one win and two losses (3 points), finishing third in Group A. The start was good. South Korea came from behind to defeat Czechia 2-1 in the first group stage match. However, they then lost 0-1 to Mexico in the second match and collapsed 0-1 in the final match against South Africa.

In particular, the defeat against South Africa was fatal. South Korea could have advanced to the Round of 32 as the second-place team in Group A with just a draw against South Africa. However, they failed to achieve even the minimum result and missed the opportunity to qualify for the Round of 32 on their own.

This tournament allowed not only the top two teams from each group but also the eight best-performing third-place teams among the 12 third-place teams to advance to the Round of 32. However, South Korea finished only 10th in the third-place rankings. Ultimately, out of 48 teams, they finished 34th overall, sadly concluding their World Cup journey.

This was the second World Cup failure for former coach Hong. He also led the South Korean national team in the 2014 Brazil World Cup but was eliminated in the group stage with one draw and two losses. Even in the North, Central America and Caribbean World Cup, where he took charge of the national team again after 10 years, he could not avoid the same outcome.

Eventually, Coach Hong Myung-bo held a press conference on the 29th and announced his voluntary resignation. Coach Hong's contract was set to last until the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, to be held in January next year, but he stepped down without completing his contract term.

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*This content was translated by AI.