Former South Korea national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo. [Yonhap]
Former South Korea national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo. [Yonhap]

British broadcaster Peter said South Korea's players cannot escape responsibility for the team's group-stage exit at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, even as criticism has focused largely on former head coach Hong Myung-bo.

The YouTube channel "Stam" recently released a video titled "Why Did Korean Football End Up Like This?"

Peter, appearing in the video, cited South Korea's final group-stage loss to South Africa and said, "Korea's squad is worth about five times more than South Africa's. They should not have played the way they did."

He added that South Africa had not looked like an overwhelmingly strong side in their other matches. "The performance Korea showed against that kind of opponent was disappointing," he said.

"Of course Hong Myung-bo bears the greatest responsibility for the defeat. So does the Korea Football Association. But that absolutely does not mean the players bear no responsibility," Peter said, criticizing the players who represented South Korea at the World Cup.

South Korea opened the tournament with a 2-1 comeback win over the Czech Republic but then lost consecutive matches against Mexico and South Africa to exit in the group stage. Hong announced his resignation immediately after the tournament.


min3654@heraldcorp.com