Commentator Lee Young-pyo (left) and broadcaster Jeon Hyun-moo. [Jeon Hyun-moo's Instagram]
Commentator Lee Young-pyo (left) and broadcaster Jeon Hyun-moo. [Jeon Hyun-moo's Instagram]

Lee Young-pyo, a former South Korea national team player turned commentator, delivered a scathing assessment of the national team's performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, calling it "the hardest match to understand in more than 10 years of commentary."

The remarks came Sunday on the KBS2 variety program "Sajangnim Gwineun Dangnaegwi," which aired behind-the-scenes footage of Lee and broadcaster Jeon Hyun-moo after they finished calling South Korea's group-stage finale against South Africa.

At a post-match dinner, Lee opened by bowing his head on behalf of the football community. "I'm sorry. We should have won," he said. He then added, "From start to finish, nothing went right in this match. I kept having to say negative things — I nearly ran out of words."

"It wasn't a case of 'we lost but fought well,'" Lee said. "The game itself was the problem," he added, sharpening his criticism.

Jeon, making his World Cup broadcasting debut as a play-by-play caller, shared his own frustration.

"You can lose. But if you lose after giving everything you have, you can say 'well done,'" he said. "With this match, I honestly had no idea what they were doing out there."

However, Jeon drew a line against criticism directed at the players themselves. "The players are not to blame," he said, defending the squad.

Lee again apologized and described the South Africa match as "a complete disaster." "You couldn't point to a single problem — there was no structure, no purpose. It was hard to tell why the players were even running," he said. "In more than 10 years of commentary, it was the most difficult match to explain and to understand."

Lee also alluded to the coaching staff's responsibility, saying, "I think the manager accounts for 50 percent of whether a team wins or loses." He also expressed disappointment over the decision to leave Son Heung-min out of the starting lineup. "I was caught off guard by that, too," he said.

The program also featured testimony from comedian Lee Gyeong-gyu, who watched the match from behind the team bench. "After Kim Min-jae was substituted off, he erupted in anger on the bench. I couldn't understand why he was taken off either," Lee Gyeong-gyu said. In response, Lee Young-pyo recalled his experience at the 2002 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, when an injury kept him out until the third group match. "I prepared for that game with the mindset that I had to play it even if I could never play football again for the rest of my life," he said, expressing empathy for Kim's feelings.

South Korea finished the group stage with one win and two losses, failing to advance to the round of 32. Head coach Hong Myung-bo announced Monday that he would resign, taking responsibility for the team's early exit.


betterj@heraldcorp.com