MONTERREY, Mexico — In a daring move with a spot in the World Cup knockout stage at stake, South Korea’s coach Hong Myung-Bo made a decision that ultimately proved disastrous.
The coach stunned spectators by excluding captain Son Heung-Min, 33, from the starting lineup for the crucial Group A match against South Africa. This marked the first time in his international career that Son was not in the starting eleven.
The outcome was a surprising but well-earned 1-0 victory for South Africa, propelling them from the bottom of the group to a second-place finish and securing their spot in the knockout rounds for the first time.
As for South Korea, they must now await the results of the final group stage games on Saturday to discover if they will move on as one of the best-performing third-place teams.
The South Korean media didn’t hold back during Hong’s post-match press conference, expressing their disappointment with phrases like “an unacceptable result” and “dismal” in their first two questions. His decision-making was harshly criticized as a “failure.”
Reflecting on his choices, Hong conceded that, in hindsight, he might have opted differently. “In terms of preparation and how we planned to play, I put a lot of thought into this,” said the former South Korea captain, known for leading his team to the semifinals in 2002. “Of course, if I had known the result beforehand, I would have made other choices.”
“I had a strategy, but when a poor result occurs, everyone has their own perspective. Ultimately, the responsibility rests with me as the head coach. My decisions led to this outcome,” he said.
When probed about the rationale for benching Son, Hong stated that he intended to deploy his key player when South Africa began to tire—a decision that seemed puzzling when he chose to bring him on at the start of the second half, just as the opposing team regrouped.
“We believed Son would be more effective when the opponents were fatigued, not at the beginning of the half when they had fresh energy,” explained Hong. “We aimed to utilize his strengths when we had opportunities to exploit gaps in their defense.”
Commenting on the team’s overall performance, Hong described the match as their “worst game” of the tournament. Notably, he also was in charge during South Korea’s disappointing performance in 2014, where they failed to win any matches, marking their lowest point since 1998.