Sawt Falasteen - South Korea coach quits after early World Cup exit

The 57-year-old former captain, in his second stint as coach, oversaw an early World Cup departure for the second time to go with the failure in 2014.

South Korea were expected to get out of a Group A that included co-hosts Mexico plus South Africa and the Czech Republic.

But they lost 1-0 to South Africa and Mexico, and finished on three points, their only success a 2-1 win over the Czechs.

It left them hoping to squeeze into the knockout rounds as one of the eight best third-placed finishers.

That hope was extinguished on Saturday by results elsewhere, with Hong taking responsibility on Sunday.

"Over the past two years I asked myself the same question whenever I had to make important decisions, select players or prepare for training session and matches: Is this the right choice for Korean football?" Hong told reporters in Mexico, according to Yonhap News Agency.

"I cannot say every decision has been the right one, but I can tell you that I have made every decision with Korean football in mind."

Hong's resignation came hours after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung lashed out at the team's performance, pointing the finger at "incompetent people" and apologising to the nation.

"When loyalty and factionalism are valued over competence, and incompetent people are appointed to leadership positions, the outcome is all but inevitable," Lee said in a post on X.

"I offer my deepest apologies to the public for the profound disappointment caused by this unacceptable outcome.

"We will move swiftly to reform sports administration to ensure that nothing like this happens again," he added, without elaborating.

The much-maligned Hong was deeply unpopular with fans and South Korean media even before the tournament flop.

He dropped veteran skipper Son Heung-min for the South Africa game, in which they only needed a draw to progress, but the gamble backfired.

Son, who turns 34 next month, has played his last World Cup and hinted previously at retiring from international football.

Hong, who was booed during home matches following his appointment in July 2024, said after stepping down that he will always be a fan.

"Even though I am leaving the national team, I am not abandoning Korean football altogether," Hong said.

"I will cheer for the national team from the bottom of my heart and hope that the team will be trusted and loved by the people once again."

J.Saleh--SF-PST