Actor Kim Su-ro. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse) provided]
Actor Kim Su-ro. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse) provided]

Actor Kim Su-ro could not hold back tears after South Korea's national football team was eliminated from the group stage of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.

On Sunday, Kim posted on his Instagram: "Son Heung-min, please stay until the next World Cup. The people suffered this time around. Let's keep our heads up. But why am I crying? Starting tomorrow, let's run hard again." The post included a video of Mexican fans cheering with both hands raised after their team secured a spot in the round of 32.

Earlier, on the day South Korea fell to third place in the group after losing to South Africa, Kim had also posted a video from the match, writing, "You worked so hard in the heat, our players. I thought we'd make the round of 16."

The national team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, beat the Czech Republic in Group A but lost consecutive matches to Mexico and South Africa, finishing third with one win and two losses — three points and a goal difference of minus one.

South Korea's elimination was confirmed Sunday when the Democratic Republic of Congo beat Uzbekistan 3-1, pushing South Korea out of the top eight wild-card spots. The team had been chasing a third overall and second consecutive round-of-16 finish at an away World Cup, following the 2010 South Africa and 2022 Qatar tournaments, but fell short.


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com