The South Korean national football team, waiting on results from other groups to determine whether they have advanced to the round of 32, returned to their base camp in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Thursday (local time) and held a recovery training session at Zapopan Chivas Valle Verde. Head coach Hong Myung-bo listens to reporters' questions at a press conference held before the session. [Yonhap]
The South Korean national football team, waiting on results from other groups to determine whether they have advanced to the round of 32, returned to their base camp in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Thursday (local time) and held a recovery training session at Zapopan Chivas Valle Verde. Head coach Hong Myung-bo listens to reporters' questions at a press conference held before the session. [Yonhap]

South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo took full personal responsibility for the team's shocking defeat to South Africa in the final Group A match of the 2026 North America World Cup, which left the side in a disappointing third place in the group. He was unable, however, to offer a clear explanation for the listless and unexpected loss.

South Korea fell 1-0 to South Africa, widely considered the group's weakest side, ending any hope of advancing to the round of 32 on their own terms. A draw would have been enough to move up to second place — instead, the team found itself in the worst-case scenario.

The squad traveled from Monterrey to Guadalajara on Friday (Korean Standard Time), the day after the South Africa match, and held a recovery session around 4 p.m. local time.

Before the session, Hong met with reporters at the training ground for a press conference reviewing the group stage.

South Korea went 1-1 in their first two matches, both played at altitude in Guadalajara. In the second match against Mexico, the team performed well overall but conceded due to defensive errors, including a mistake by goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu of Tokyo.

"Looking back now, the result of the second match is deeply regrettable," Hong said. "If we had picked up points there, we wouldn't have needed to push so hard in the third match — but we didn't, and that's how we ended up in the worst possible scenario."

Against South Africa, South Korea produced a thoroughly poor performance. The team created almost no threatening chances after the 10th minute of the first half and were ultimately helpless against South Africa's quick counterattacks. The players also looked noticeably heavier and out of sync compared to the first two matches.

On why the team performed so poorly, Hong said, "I think the environmental conditions may have caused some difficulties."

His suggestion was that players who had competed in the relatively mild climate of Guadalajara struggled to some degree after moving to the heat of Monterrey for the final match.

Hong acknowledged, however, that after reviewing match data he had been unable to identify a clear cause.

"Looking at the data, the total distance covered was slightly less than against Mexico, while high-intensity running was slightly higher," he said. "There wasn't a significant difference in physical output, so it's not easy to explain why the players looked so slow out there."

He also cited psychological factors.

"I think the players were in a mental state where they desperately wanted to perform well and absolutely had to win," Hong said. "Combined with the intense heat, I think the mental and psychological pressure just didn't come together the right way."


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com