South Korea national team head coach Hong Myung-bo is facing a storm of fierce criticism and mounting calls for his immediate resignation, following a shock 1-0 defeat to South Africa in Group A of the 2026 World Cup finals.
The loss did not merely put the "Korean Samsons" qualification hopes on the line — it also ignited widespread public fury, manifesting in a popular petition demanding the coach's dismissal and a reform of the Korea Football Association's governing structure.
The most controversial decision, which lit the fuse of the crisis before kick-off, was the benching of team captain and former Tottenham star Son Heung-min, 33, for the first time in his long international career.
Although Son had failed to score in the opening win against the Czech Republic and was also off target in the second defeat against Mexico, the decision to drop him was seen as an ill-calculated gamble by the coach — particularly given that South Korea needed only a draw against South Africa, theoretically the weakest side in the group, to secure second place and automatic qualification.
Criticism was not confined to the result alone, but extended to the bewildering manner in which the team performed: they dominated possession and shape without creating any genuine danger in front of goal, save for a weak header from Oh Hyeon-gyu and an early attempt from Lee Kang-in.
Korean media and journalists described the performance as deeply disappointing and devoid of spirit, to the point that one journalist likened the catastrophic technical regression at the post-match press conference to a case of mass food poisoning afflicting the squad. The fans' petition also challenged the legitimacy of Hong's appointment from the outset, with its text stating that the Korea Football Association's official selection process was effectively bypassed, rendering the appointment fundamentally illegitimate.
Despite the squad being regarded by many as the strongest in South Korean history, the team ended the group stage with 1 win and 2 losses in what is historically their worst group-stage showing.
For his part, Hong Myung-bo — who guided his country as a player to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup — defended his tactical decision regarding Son, noting that he had planned to introduce him in the second half to exploit space and declining fitness levels among the South African players. That is precisely what happened at the start of the second half, yet without the desired effect.
After the match, Hong accepted full responsibility, saying: "If we had known the result in advance, perhaps I would have made different choices. I had a strategy, but when a bad result like this occurs, the responsibility falls entirely on the coach. I believe I made wrong decisions, and that is why things went so badly."
Despite finishing third in the group and with fading hopes, South Korea still cling to a slim chance of advancing to the round of 32 as one of the 8 best third-placed teams, currently sitting 6th in that ranking.
Should the numbers fall in their favour and they qualify, a formidable clash awaits them against the Egypt national team, led by star Mohamed Salah. Nevertheless, sports reports emerging from Seoul indicate that Hong's fate has effectively already been sealed, and that his dismissal is only a matter of time regardless of the qualifying arithmetic.