Hong Myung-bo has resigned as head coach of South Korea’s males’s nationwide soccer workforce after they did not advance to the World Cup knockout stage.
The workforce had hoped they might nonetheless qualify for the subsequent spherical of the match as among the finest third-placed groups, however that hope was quashed on Saturday.
The early exit has prompted widespread criticism at house, with President Lee Jae Myung calling for an investigation into causes behind the workforce’s disappointing efficiency.
Hong apologised to followers on Sunday and stated the accountability “rests totally with me as head coach”.
Ranked thirty second in FIFA’s males’s rankings and led by star participant Son Heung-min, South Korea recorded two losses and one win on the World Cup, ending behind Mexico and South Africa, who’re ranked fifteenth and sixtieth respectively.
Criticism had mounted rapidly after the workforce’s final match with South Africa on Thursday, which South Korea misplaced 1-0.
The defeat left them third in Group A. It nonetheless gave them hope to qualify for the subsequent spherical beneath a brand new rule launched with this match’s growth from 32 to 48 groups, which permits the eight finest third-placed groups within the group stage to progress to the knockout spherical. However on Saturday, they have been knocked out due to the opposite groups’ last scores.
Followers blame Hong, who has been teaching the workforce for the previous two years. On Monday, the nationwide workforce’s official fan membership Pink Devils issued a press release calling on Hong to “kneel earlier than all the nation and depart the soccer world without end”.
Asserting his resignation at a information convention in Mexico on Sunday, Hong stated that “we did not ship the outcomes that our followers anticipated”.
“Regardless that I’m leaving the nationwide workforce, I’m not abandoning Korean soccer altogether,” Hong stated. “I’ll cheer for the nationwide workforce from the underside of my coronary heart and hope that the workforce will probably be trusted and cherished by the individuals as soon as once more.”
The announcement got here after President Lee stated that he felt “not simply confusion however utter bewilderment on the sudden final result”.
In a submit on X, Lee stated that the early exit of the workforce “seems to be a failure of organisation and personnel”.
“When favouritism and cronyism take priority over competence in deciding on a commander, the result’s as predictable as fireplace burning paper,” he stated.
Hong’s appointment to the pinnacle coach submit was controversial from the beginning. The previous defender was a hero of South Korea’s 2002 World Cup success, having captained the workforce to a historic semi-final end. However when he led the workforce as a coach in 2014, they did not advance past the group stage – or win a single match.
When Hong was appointed to the identical job once more in 2024, it was met with harsh uproar. Many soccer followers criticised the appointment as soccer affiliation’s previous guards giving the highest job to their good friend, because the KFA handed on a couple of foreign-born candidates who had undergone a rigorous vetting course of.
On Sunday, Hong stated that “accepting the job was not a straightforward selection”.
“I can’t say each determination has been the best one, however I can let you know that I’ve made each determination with Korean soccer in thoughts,” he added.
South Korea police say that they’re awaiting safety threats at Incheon Airport and different places after a dying risk was made on-line towards Hong on his return to Korea over the weekend, native media reported.