Japan national football team head coach Moriyasu Hajime. [AP]
Japan national football team head coach Moriyasu Hajime. [AP]

Japan national football team head coach Moriyasu Hajime has come to the defense of Hong Myung-bo, the former South Korea head coach.

At a press conference held Wednesday after returning home, Moriyasu was asked about Hong and began by acknowledging the limits of his perspective. "I don't know everything about the internal situation in Korea, so there isn't much I can easily say," he said. "But I have met Hong Myung-bo personally and spoken with him, and we faced each other at the East Asian Cup. We are rivals, but we also interact as friends."

He then offered a direct defense of his counterpart. "I don't think Hong was the worst ever," Moriyasu said. "I believe he fought without sparing himself for his country and did his best to produce results." He added, "Ultimately, all evaluations come down to outcomes. I don't think everything he did up to now was wrong."

Moriyasu also had words for South Korean football more broadly. "I think everyone involved in Korean football is working hard," he said. "I hope the positive aspects get more coverage as well."

Under Hong, South Korea finished third in their group at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America with one win and two losses — three points — and failed to advance to the round of 32. Hong announced his resignation on site before returning home.

Japan, by contrast, advanced from the group stage unbeaten with one win and two draws for five points, only to fall 1-2 to Brazil in their round-of-32 opener.

Meanwhile, the two coaches held a joint conversation in July last year to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic normalization between South Korea and Japan, discussing the development of football in both countries and avenues for future cooperation.

They later met on the pitch at the East Asian Cup, where South Korea under Hong lost 1-0 to Moriyasu's Japan.


min3654@heraldcorp.com