South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo said he deliberately left captain Son Heung-min on the bench in the hope the forward could exploit tiring South African legs after the break, but admitted his side never found their rhythm in a 1-0 defeat that left their World Cup fate hanging in the balance on Wednesday.
«We thought that if the opponents had a lot of energy, it would be better to use Son later in the game, when they started to lose energy and there was more space. We wanted to use him when they were weaker,» Hong said.
Son replaced Hwang Hee-chan at half-time but had little impact.
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«We prepared well, but compared to our previous matches, we made too many mistakes in midfield. That’s why my players lost confidence. We knew how we should have played, but we should have done better. Today’s performance was just not good enough,» Hong added.
South Korea finished third in Group A with three points from three games. Qualification now depends on the results of other groups.
Published on June 25, 2026
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