The 'warning alarm' sounded even when compared to Asia's weakest teams... For two years, there was no answer on how to utilize Son Heung-min, the three-at-the-back system, or Plan B. [Predicted disaster of Hong Myung-bo's tenure ②]

*This content was translated by AI.

Hong Myung-bo, the head coach of the South Korean national football team, has ultimately resigned in disgrace. This comes about two years after his appointment amid controversies over fairness. On the 29th (Korea time), the day after it was confirmed that South Korea would be eliminated from the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, Hong held a press conference in Mexico and announced his resignation. From the outset, his appointment was shrouded in fairness controversies, and throughout his two-year journey, he failed to win the support of fans. He left another stain on South Korean football history for the first time in 12 years since the 2014 Brazil tournament. StarNews will look back on the two years of Hong Myung-bo's tenure, which were predicted to be a disaster, and examine the current situation of South Korean football, which is inevitably facing chaos, in a three-part series. /Editor's note

After former coach Jurgen Klinsmann (62) was dismissed following the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup, South Korean football needed a new commander. The team endured a short period under the leadership of Hwang Sun-hong (58), head coach of Daejeon Hana Citizen, and former interim coach Kim Do-hoon (56), but it was urgent to appoint a permanent head coach to lead the national team until the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America. Despite various controversies, the Korea Football Association entrusted the coaching reins to Hong Myung-bo (57) once again.

However, the outcome was the worst. South Korea tasted the bitterness of elimination from the group stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, and Coach Hong stepped down immediately after the elimination was confirmed.

Hong's two-year record as the South Korean national team coach, returning for the first time in 10 years in July 2024, was 15 wins, 5 draws, and 6 losses in 26 matches. His win percentage was 57.7%. Looking only at the numbers, it does not appear to be a terrible record. However, when examining the details and comparing them with other Asian rival nations, the sense of regret becomes much greater.

Japan, 'Korea's eternal rival,' was different. Under the guidance of Coach Hajime Moriyasu, Japan achieved an overwhelming record of 17 wins, 6 draws, and 2 losses from the Asian third qualifying round through to the World Cup group stage. During that period, they also defeated world-class powerhouses such as England and Brazil in A-matches. There was a reason for Japan's confidence in achieving good results on the world stage.

Even Iran, which was eliminated from the group stage in this World Cup, recorded 12 wins, 8 draws, and 3 losses during the same period. Although the A-match results prior to the World Cup were not good due to military tensions between the United States, Israel, and Iran, they at least showed a strong performance in the Asian third qualifying round.

In contrast, South Korea exposed instability from the Asian third qualifying round, which Hong commanded in all matches. South Korea recorded 6 wins and 4 draws in the third qualifying round, securing the top spot in Group B and earning the World Cup finals ticket for the 11th consecutive time. Judging by the results alone, it was successful. However, apart from the 4-0 victory over Kuwait in the final 10th match, there were not many games where they dominated their opponents.

Instability was evident from the very first match of Hong's return as the national team coach, the third qualifying round match against Palestine. South Korea drew 0-0 without scoring against Palestine, considered the weakest team, at Seoul World Cup Stadium. The shock was even greater because the match was held at home.

Even after that, South Korea repeated scenes that were not satisfying, winning with dramatic goals in the late second half or conceding goals amidst defensive instability. They drew consecutively in away matches against Palestine, Oman, and Jordan, at one point raising red flags for their qualification. Fortunately, they escaped the crisis by defeating Iraq 2-0 after an early red card for the opponent in the first half, but doubts about the team's performance never disappeared.

Immediately, South Korea finished as runners-up at last year's East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship, also known as the East Asian Cup, losing to Japan. This was also when Hong officially introduced the three-at-the-back tactic he had adopted as Plan A.

For a time, it seemed the three-at-the-back tactic was taking root. After the East Asian Cup, South Korea recorded 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss in late 2025. They defeated co-hosts the United States 2-0 in an away match and drew 2-2 with Mexico. South Korea's victory seemed within reach until they conceded a heartbreaking equalizer in stoppage time.

Of course, the 0-5 defeat against Brazil was painful. However, they subsequently defeated 'South America's dark horses' Paraguay and Bolivia in succession, and in the Bolivia match, they appeared to show tactical flexibility by deploying a four-at-the-back formation instead of the three-at-the-back. In November last year, they defeated African powerhouse Ghana 1-0.

However, the hearts of South Korean football fans, exhausted by the long national team slump and various controversies, did not easily return. This was also reflected in attendance numbers. After the wall of 60,000 spectators at Seoul World Cup Stadium was broken in Hong's return match against Palestine, A-matches held in South Korea repeatedly failed to sell out. There were even scenes of booing directed at the team despite it being a home game.

In the Brazil match, 63,237 spectators filled Seoul World Cup Stadium as world-class players visited South Korea, but subsequent matches against Paraguay and Bolivia drew only 22,206 and 33,852 spectators, respectively. This was a scene showing that fan support for the national team was not what it used to be.

Nevertheless, given the good performance of the national team in late last year, there was an opportunity to change the atmosphere. At that time, public opinion toward Coach Hong was gradually changing. Expectations for the World Cup finals grew amidst a winning streak. However, Coach Hong failed to seize this opportunity. The national team fell into slump again.

South Korea suffered a crushing 0-4 defeat to Côte d'Ivoire in March. The performance was also poor, as South Korea managed only two effective shots while the opponent recorded eight. They then lost 0-1 to Austria. This was a series of defeats occurring just a few months before the World Cup.

Coach Hong's three-at-the-back tactic was once again put under scrutiny. Criticism arose that there was no visible Plan B to replace Plan A when it stalled. In the Austria match, Hong made seven substitutions, but most were simply swaps of players in the same positions. It was closer to a substitution that only changed players rather than a change that altered the flow of the game.

The best 11 was also not clearly determined. It remained unclear until the end who the central defensive partner would be to support 'monster defender' Kim Min-jae (30, Bayern Munich). How to utilize Son Heung-min (34, LAFC), who showed inconsistency when playing as a forward, was also a major issue. Hwang In-beom (30, Feyenoord) also could not be guaranteed to be in normal condition until just before the tournament due to injury repercussions. There was also insufficient time to synchronize with teammates through match practice. Additionally, variables such as injuries to the defense line, including Jo Yu-min (30, Sharjah FC) being left out, piled up just before the tournament.

Although they seemed to find confidence by defeating Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador, who were rated as weak teams, this did not lead to good results in the World Cup finals.

In this tournament, South Korea was drawn into Group A along with Mexico, Czechia, and South Africa. Immediately after the draw, there were many evaluations that they had faced relatively easy opponents. However, the result was 1 win, 2 losses, 3 points, and 3rd place in Group A.

The start was good. South Korea secured a 2-1 comeback victory against Czechia in the group stage's first match. Following Hwang In-beom's fantastic equalizer, Oh Hyeon-gyu (25, Beşiktaş) scored the winning goal. However, the turnaround did not last long. South Korea lost 0-1 to host nation Mexico in the second match and collapsed 0-1 in the final match against South Africa. The only match in which South Korea scored first and won under Coach Hong's system was the Czechia match at the North America World Cup. This means they lacked the power to change the flow of the game.

Controversy also arose regarding the substitution timing for Son Heung-min. Coach Hong succeeded in a comeback victory in the Czechia match by using the move of taking Son Heung-min off early in the second half. However, in the Mexico match, Son Heung-min was substituted at a similar time, but the same result did not follow.

In the South Africa match, which was the most fatal, Son Heung-min could not even start. South Korea could have reached the round of 32 in 2nd place in Group A with just a draw against South Africa. However, South Korea showed frustrating attacking power throughout the first half. Coach Hong brought Son Heung-min on at the start of the second half, but they ended up conceding the winning goal. Ultimately, South Korea missed the opportunity to qualify for the round of 32 on its own without even achieving the minimum result.

Disappointing scenes were repeated throughout the group stage. When Seol Young-woo (28, Zvezda), who plays as a full-back for his club, performed poorly in the wing-back role for the national team, there was no suitable card to replace him. The role of German-Korean mixed-race midfielder Jens Castrof (23, Borussia Mönchengladbach), who plays as a starter in the German Bundesliga, was also evaluated as limited.

This tournament allowed not only the top two teams in each group but also the eight best-performing teams among the 12 third-placed teams to advance to the round of 32. However, South Korea finished only 10th in the third-place rankings. Ultimately, South Korea finished the North America World Cup journey with a final ranking of 34th out of 48 teams.

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*This content was translated by AI.