Food poisoning or what? Korean media rips coach after shock World Cup defeat

South Korean manager Hong Myung-bo was ripped apart by a hostile press following his side’s 1-0 loss to South Africa on Thursday. South Korea failed to show urgency in their final group stage match and now find themselves on the brink of an early exit from the tournament.

It turned into difficult viewing for the large number of fans attending the match as South Korea failed to show the urgency and intent needed to win. The Korean media arrived at the post-match press conference in a foul mood and wasted no time questioning Hong.

KOREA COACH’S ATTACK PRESS

One reporter even sarcastically lashed out at the team’s management, asking if the team had suffered food poisoning, as the performance otherwise made no sense.

“Was there pre-match food poisoning or some other factor?”

Reports suggest that the South Korean head coach does not enjoy overwhelming support at home, especially as he has struggled for results against stronger teams in recent years. Hong took the question in stride, insisting there were no external reasons behind the performance.

“The content of the match was not good, but there was absolutely no such problem in the team. I don’t want to attribute the reason to such things,” he said.

“It’s true that we played our worst game in three World Cup games,” he added.

WHY DIDN’T SON HEUNG-MIN PLAY THE FULL GAME?

The Korean press did not like that their football hero Son Heung-min was on the bench for the first half. Son, the team’s biggest star, came on as a second-half substitute but had little impact on the game.

Hong explained that the decision was tactical and aimed to preserve Son’s energy so he could influence the match later.

“We thought that when 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.

The head coach blamed the midfield, saying they lost too many possessions in central areas and disrupted their own rhythm.

South Korea started brightly but faded midway through the first half as South Africa slowed down in midfield and repeatedly played through balls against a Korean side struggling to defend high up the pitch.

“We prepared well, but compared to our previous games, we made too many mistakes in the midfield. That’s why my players lost confidence. We knew how we should have played, but we should have done better. Today’s performance just wasn’t good enough,” added Hong.

After the defeat, South Korea will be left hanging by a thread. They still have a mathematical chance of reaching the round of 32, but with a goal difference of -1, progress now looks unlikely.

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Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

June 25, 2026 12:02 PM IST