Hong’s time is surely over

Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo takes a question at a press conference following Korea's Group A game against South Africa at Chivas Verde Valle in Zapopan, Mexico, Thursday. Yonhap

Whatever happens in the coming days, Hong Myung-bo’s time as head coach of South Korea is surely over. Regardless of whether the team squeezes into the Round of 32 as one of the best third-placed teams, there has to be a change.

The coach’s two-year spell will be defined by the question posed by a reporter after the 1-0 loss to South Africa in Monterey in the final game of Group A. He wanted to know if there had been an outbreak of food poisoning or some other issue behind the scenes that could explain such a dismal performance. The video has gone viral around the world, and many see it as amusing. For Korean fans, however, it is hard to smile.

Just to recap: The tournament started with a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic that had people talking of the Taeguk Warriors as dark horses. Then came a poor defeat against Mexico, when the tactics seemed to be to play for a draw. Still, only a point was needed against South Africa to secure second place and a game in Los Angeles in the next round. Instead came a truly terrible performance against one of the lowest-ranked teams in the tournament.

Leading pundit Park Moon-sung was in tears, though managed to say it was the worst game he had ever seen. Any team can lose a football game, but this was at a different level. The sad truth is that Korea deserves to be eliminated and does not deserve to continue at the tournament.

Coach Hong failed at the 2014 World Cup when Korea failed badly, collecting just one point. Then, however, he had taken the job just a year before and was a relatively young coach. This time he has been in place for two years and took the team through the main round of qualification.

The performances against weaker Asian teams were adequate rather than impressive, without any sense that Hong was building a style of play that he wanted. There was a little encouragement with a 2-0 win over the United States and a 2-2 draw with Mexico in September. Yet just weeks later, Brazil came to Seoul to win 5-0 and it could have been much worse.

Hong’s change to a three-man defense didn’t breed confidence and the 4-0 loss to Ivory Coast in March was worrying. The players, most of whom are used to a four-man backline when in action for their clubs, seemed to struggle with it.

In terms of leadership and motivation — a big deal in international football — Hong also seemed to struggle, strangely so for a man who was such a legend as a player. Starting without captain Son Heung-min against South Africa was a big call, even if Son had not been at his best, and regardless of the tactical side of that decision, it clearly had an effect on the rest of the team. South Africa could not believe its luck.

In the end, Korea lost two games in one of the World Cup’s weakest groups. At the time of writing, there is still a chance that the team can squeeze into the Round of 32, but it would not be deserved.

Unfortunately, the 2027 Asian Cup is less than seven months away. Changes need to be made.