One banner at Incheon International Airport said it all: "South Korean football is dead." Whether you agree with that or not, the scene that played out on Sunday was ugly — and entirely earned.
Hong Myung-bo resigned after South Korea finished the 2026 World Cup with one win and two losses, eliminated in the group stage after a 1-0 defeat to South Africa in their final match. He walked past reporters at the airport without taking a single question, escorted through a police cordon as protesters chanted for his head.
The players got a different reception. Most supporters applauded the squad and thanked them individually — a stark, deliberate contrast to the hostility aimed at the coach. The Korea Football Association didn't even bother organizing an official welcome ceremony.
The Son decision that defined a tournament
Hong had problems before the World Cup even started. His 2024 appointment drew criticism over what many fans felt was a murky hiring process within the Korea Football Association. But nothing crystallized the backlash quite like his choice to bench Son Heung-min for the first half of the must-win South Africa match.
Son is 33. This was, by almost every measure, his last realistic shot at leading South Korea deep into a World Cup. Keeping him on the bench in the game that ended their campaign isn't just a tactical question — it's the kind of decision that defines a coach's legacy, and not in a good way.
Alongside Son, South Korea had Kim Min-jae marshalling the defence and Lee Kang-in supplying creativity in midfield. A squad many considered the most talented the country had produced in years. They won once.
What comes next for Korean football
Hong acknowledged after the elimination that he couldn't explain why the tournament had fallen apart the way it did. Then he resigned. For the supporters who crowded Incheon demanding accountability, even that felt insufficient.
South Korea now need a new manager, a reckoning within the KFA, and answers about how a generation this talented came home this early. The next World Cup cycle starts from zero.
Hong's final press conference quote — that he struggled to explain the collapse — might be the most honest thing said throughout this entire campaign.
