Ahn Jung-hwan [Newsis]
Ahn Jung-hwan [Newsis]

Former South Korea international Ahn Jung-hwan unleashed a scathing critique of the national team and its coaching staff after South Korea suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat to South Africa at Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, Mexico, on Thursday in their final 2026 FIFA World Cup group-stage match, calling for a complete overhaul of the team's leadership. The criticism carried added weight given that Ahn had defended head coach Hong Myung-bo just days earlier.

Ahn laid out his criticism in a column published Thursday in JoongAng Ilbo.

"Was there ever a more frustrating match at a World Cup? It was the worst of the three games at this tournament. It was horrific. We did nothing," he wrote. On tactics, he was equally blunt: "Tactics? There were none. I couldn't feel any tactical structure at all."

Ahn went on to say the responsibility lay squarely with the coach. "The manager has to be held accountable. Ultimately, it's the manager who builds the team," he wrote. "Regardless of the result, judging purely by the quality of play, accountability is unavoidable."

He also called for a broader institutional reckoning. "Unless everything is completely cleaned out, this will keep repeating. If things go wrong, the football association needs to be overhauled entirely — swept clean," he said.

Ahn pointed to Japan as a source of envy. "When I look at Japan, I feel envious and even jealous," he added. "They prepared thoroughly in advance, so the results were inevitable."

He also directed criticism at the players themselves.

"There was no sense of desperation. This wasn't even a case of 'lost but fought well,'" Ahn said. "It felt like something was wrong, or like a wound had finally burst open."

The sharp reversal in tone was notable. Just three days earlier, on Monday, Ahn had defended Hong against public criticism over the early substitution of Son Heung-min, dismissing critics as attention-seekers. "People who don't know what they're talking about are just trolling. It's disgusting to watch," he had said at the time.

Even in Thursday's column, Ahn offered a partial defense of the substitution decision itself. "There's debate over the timing of Son's substitution, but does the fact that Son was rested mean the player who started in his place was a bad player? That kind of criticism can make the player feel deeply ashamed," he wrote.

Ahn closed with a note of self-reflection. "I wonder if we — the public — have been destabilizing the national team," he added. "I'm not on anyone's side. I'm on the side of Korean football, to the bone."

South Korea, considered the stronger side on paper, fell 1-0 to South Africa in the final Group A match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Estadio BBVA in Monterrey on Thursday, finishing third in the group with one win and two losses for three points.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com