Hong Myung-bo directly explains the reason for excluding Son Heung-min... "I tried it as before, but it didn't work" — The gamble that failed twice

*This content was translated by AI.

Former South Korean national team coach Hong Myung-bo spoke directly regarding one of the biggest controversies of the 2026 FIFA World Cup: the decision to exclude Son Heung-min (LAFC) from the starting lineup for the final group stage match against South Africa.

According to Channel A on the 2nd, former Coach Hong explained his reasoning behind the starting lineup for the South Africa match in an interview.

The South Korean national team led by former Coach Hong received a poor performance record of failing to advance from the group stage at this tournament. South Korea was placed in Group A along with Mexico, Czechia, and South Africa. In the first match, they started on a high note with a 2-1 comeback victory against Czechia, but lost 0-1 to host nation Mexico in the second match.

South Korea's fate for advancing to the knockout stage depended on the result of the final group stage third match against South Africa. The situation was still favorable; South Korea could have advanced to the Round of 32 as the second-place team in Group A with at least a draw against South Africa. However, the result was a shocking 0-1 defeat.

At that time, former Coach Hong made a bold decision to bench captain Son Heung-min along with veteran midfielder Lee Jae-sung (Mainz). Son Heung-min was substituted in right at the start of the second half. However, South Korea ended up conceding the winning goal, and Son Heung-min failed to create any scoring opportunities. With the worst possible outcome, former Coach Hong's decision faced fierce criticism.

South Korea finished third in Group A with one win and two losses. They were also ranked lower than other third-place teams in the group, failing to advance to the knockout stage. Although this tournament expanded from a 32-team format to a 48-team format, South Korea ultimately failed to even clear the group stage hurdle. Their final ranking remained at 34th place, which is the worst performance by South Korea in World Cup history.

Regarding the background for excluding Son Heung-min from the starting lineup for the South Africa match, former Coach Hong cited a successful case from a previous match. He said, "For example, Oh Hyeon-gyu (Besiktas) didn't expect to score like that. When we took out Son Heung-min and put in Oh Hyeon-gyu, he scored the winning goal, didn't you know? Then we tried taking out Son Heung-min again, but it didn't work then either."

Ultimately, it appears former Coach Hong explained that the same decision could receive completely different evaluations depending on the result. In fact, former Coach Hong's bold gamble was praised up until the first match against Czechia. At that time, South Korea conceded an early goal and trailed 0-1 to Czechia. Then, former Coach Hong substituted in Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) for Lee Jae-sung. Afterward, South Korea succeeded in equalizing through a fantastic chip shot by Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord).

In the 24th minute of the second half against Czechia, former Coach Hong called Son Heung-min off the field and brought on Oh Hyeon-gyu. Although Son Heung-min had missed several goal-scoring opportunities at that time, leaving out the team's ace and captain was not an easy decision. However, Oh Hyeon-gyu scored a dramatic comeback winning goal in the 35th minute of the second half. Former Coach Hong's substitution tactics also drew significant attention.

The problem was that the same decision was repeated afterward, but the results were different. Former Coach Hong also substituted Son Heung-min out early in the second match against Mexico, where South Korea was trailing. However, no comeback like the one against Czechia occurred. Following this, criticism poured in regarding the "early substitution of Son Heung-min."

The controversy grew even larger for the South Africa match. Former Coach Hong excluded Son Heung-min from the starting lineup entirely. However, South Korea could not find a solution in attack and ultimately lost 0-1, failing to advance from the group stage. Criticism toward Coach Hong intensified further.

Former Coach Hong said, "Football is about the coach having to implement it within the stadium. If that goes well, he's a good coach; if not, he isn't. The result turned out that way."

After it was confirmed that South Korea would fail to advance from the group stage of the North America World Cup, former Coach Hong announced his resignation, taking responsibility for the team's poor performance in this tournament. Although his original contract was set until the 2027 AFC Asian Cup held next January, he stepped down before completing his contract term.

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*This content was translated by AI.