'Need to reduce reliance on 34-year-old Son Heung-min,' FIFA delivers blunt assessment: "Korean football needs generational change... Rebuilding core is 'Lee Kang-in'"

*This content was translated by AI.

FIFA urged the South Korean national team, which was eliminated in the group stage of the 2026 North American World Cup, to undergo generational change and a major team restructuring.

On the 23rd (local time), FIFA evaluated the performance of AFC member nations in this tournament through a summary post titled "World Cup Performance in Asia and Future Challenges."

South Korea secured a 2-1 victory against Czech Republic in their opening group stage match. FIFA noted that they "started the tournament very well." However, citing consecutive 0-1 defeats against Mexico and South Africa in the second and third matches, FIFA assessed that "the Czech Republic match was South Korea's best moment of this tournament."

Regarding the failure to advance to the round of 16, FIFA pointed out, "South Korea has been eliminated in the group stage three times out of the last four World Cups."

The assessment also included a blunt diagnosis calling for the coach's resignation and noting that key players are aging. FIFA stated, "Following disappointing results, Coach Hong Myung-bo left the national team, and with Son Heung-min now 34 years old, it appears South Korea needs to rebuild the national team, including generational change."

FIFA then highlighted Lee Kang-in as a central figure for leading the future national team, advising that "core talents like Lee Kang-in must take on central roles to achieve success in the upcoming AFC Asian Cup and deliver better results at the 2030 World Cup."

Meanwhile, this tournament saw a record nine Asian nations participate in the finals, yet none managed to advance to the round of 16, making it a painful stage that highlighted the gap with global football. This stands in stark contrast to the 2022 Qatar tournament, where three countries reached the round of 16. While Asian nations performed well early on, their limitations quickly emerged; only Japan and Australia advanced to the round of 32, while seven countries, including South Korea and Iran, failed to reach the knockout stage.

The sole achievement was Japan, led primarily by players based in Europe, which went undefeated through the group stage, recorded Asia's largest margin of victory (4-0 against Tunisia), and held Brazil to a 1-2 draw in the round of 32, setting a benchmark for Asian football's future direction.

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*This content was translated by AI.