South Korea’s coach Hong Myung-bo has publicly accepted full responsibility for the team’s 1-0 defeat to South Africa. Following the match, Myung-bo expressed his belief that in high-stakes tournaments like the World Cup, the head coach is ultimately accountable for the outcome.
“On a stage as big as this, the head coach is responsible for all the results,” Hong stated during a post-match press conference, as reported by The Korea Times. “Ultimately, I made wrong decisions that led to this outcome. There’s nothing more, nothing less to it.”
Despite the disappointing performance, Myung-bo emphasized that there were no off-field issues affecting the team’s display at Estadio Monterrey. “Although we played poorly, we didn’t have problems of such nature,” he noted. He also acknowledged that even if there had been issues, he would not use them as an excuse, calling it their “worst match in the group stage.”
As the tournament progresses, South Korea’s aspirations hinge on qualifying for the next round as one of the best third-place finishers, following Mexico and South Africa, which have successfully advanced to the last-32 round after finishing first and second, respectively.