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    Korea's World Cup elimination intensifies scrutiny of tactics, criticism of KFA

    Korea’s failure to reach the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup has unleashed a wave of fury back home. Fans and experts say the result was not a sudden collapse but the inevitable outcome of years of mismanagement, elitism and controversy surrounding the Korea Football Association (KFA). The team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, finished third in Group A on Wednesday (local time) despite what many saw as the “easiest” World Cup draw in the country’s modern football history. The team then slipped to ninth among all group runners-up, missing out on the expanded knockout stage, which allowed the top eight third-placed teams to go through. The final blow came Saturday (local time) when the Democratic Republic of Congo beat Uzbekistan 3-1 in their last Group K match, a result that mathematically confirmed Korea’s elimination. The manner of exit has sharpened criticism of Hong’s tactical approach and the KFA’s governance. “Maybe we’ve been expecting this for years,” former national team captain and commentator Park Ji-sung said in JTBC’s broadcast after the game.

    4 MIN READBy Lee Hae-rin
    Korea's World Cup elimination intensifies scrutiny of tactics, criticism of KFA
  • Sports

    Hong Myung-bo steps down as Korea coach after World Cup early exit

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Hong Myung-bo steps down as Korea coach after World Cup early exit
  • Sports

    Rival parties demand overhaul of nat'l football body following Korea's elimination

    3 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Rival parties demand overhaul of nat'l football body following Korea's elimination
  • World

    Messi becomes first to score in 7 straight World Cup games while extending goals record

    1 MIN READBy AP
    Messi becomes first to score in 7 straight World Cup games while extending goals record
  • Sports

    Son Heung-min ends 4th World Cup with another group stage exit

    3 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Son Heung-min ends 4th World Cup with another group stage exit
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Sports

Landers' manager buoyed by veteran starter's turnaround

After losing three of his five starts in April and posting an uncharacteristic 6.12 ERA, SSG Landers starter Kim Kwang-hyun has bounced back nicely with a couple of strong outings in May. For Landers manager Lee Sung-yong, the turnaround couldn't have come a day sooner. "I think his fastball velocity has ticked up lately and he's been very effective with that pitch," Lee said of Kim during his media scrum Tuesday at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, just west of Seoul, before hosting the NC Dinos. "And his breaking balls have also improved, and he is locating those pitches much better." Kim, 36, is one of the top starters of his generation in the Korea Baseball Organization with an MVP trophy and multiple Korean Series titles under his belt, along with a two-year stint with the St. Louis Cardinals. Last year, though, Kim pitched to a career-worst 4.93 ERA in 31 starts, though he struck out 154 batters, the fourth-highest total of his career. After a rocky month of April, Kim has allowed just one earned run in 13 innings across two May starts. On Sunday, Kim held the Kia Tigers to one

May 13, 2025By Yonhap
Landers' manager buoyed by veteran starter's turnaround
Sports

Kim Hyo-joo eyes major title as she kicks off her 30s with two wins

Turning 30 has marked a strong new chapter for golfer Kim Hyo-joo, who is off to one of her best starts in recent years. With two titles already this season — at the LPGA Ford Championship in March and the Ladies European Tour Aramco Championship earlier this month — and a runner-up finish at April’s major Chevron Championship, Kim shows no signs of slowing down. Despite 30 often being considered a turning point or even a prelude to retirement for many female golfers, Kim — once hailed as a golf prodigy — is thriving. “It feels almost like a birthday,” Kim said with a smile after successfully defending her Aramco Championship title on Sunday. “I’m so happy to win again as the defending champion and to create such great memories with fans.” Last year, Kim went winless on the LPGA Tour, which pushed her to make major adjustments ahead of the 2025 season. She committed to intense off-season training, saying it was her most rigorous since elementary school. Rather than sticking to a fixed schedule, she set daily practice goals and trained until they were met. One of the

May 13, 2025By KTimes
Kim Hyo-joo eyes major title as she kicks off her 30s with two wins
Sports

Son Heung-min chasing 1st trophy as 'final piece' of puzzle

About to take his third crack at winning his first trophy in Europe, Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean captain Son Heung-min said Monday he wants to grab that final piece of the puzzle that he's been chasing for a decade. Son spoke to South Korean media Monday at Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre in north London, where Spurs have been preparing for the final of the UEFA Europa League against Manchester United. The match kicks off at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, at 9 p.m. on May 21 (4 a.m. on May 22, South Korean time). It will be Son's third final with Tottenham. They were the runners-up at both the 2019 UEFA Champions League and the 2021 English Football League (EFL) Cup. Spurs have not lifted any trophy since winning the 2008 EFL Cup. Son, who left Bayer Leverkusen in Germany to join Spurs in August 2015, said he has stayed put with the north London club for all these years because he still has unfinished business. "I am here mainly because I want to accomplish things that others have not been able to," Son said. "To complete the puzzle, you need every piece. Ultimately, I think

May 12, 2025By Yonhap
Son Heung-min chasing 1st trophy as 'final piece' of puzzle
Sports

KBO-best Eagles lose starting shortstop to broken fibula

The Hanwha Eagles, in first place in South Korean baseball, announced Monday they will be without their starting shortstop Sim Woo-jun for several weeks due to a leg injury. The Eagles said Sim, who took a pitch to his left leg during Saturday's game against the Kiwoom Heroes in Seoul, was diagnosed with a broken fibula after multiple tests done Monday. The Eagles added Sim will be reevaluated after resting for two weeks, and said it could take up to four weeks before he can resume baseball activities. Sim, 30, is a glove-first shortstop who signed with the Eagles as a free agent last November after spending the first nine seasons of his Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) career with the KT Wiz. Though Sim only had a lifetime batting average of .254 with 31 home runs in 1,072 games through 2024, the Eagles still handed him a four-year deal worth 5 billion won ($3.51 million), hoping he could be the defensive anchor that they haven't had lately. And Sim has mostly lived up to his billing, ranking as one of the KBO's top defensive shortstops while hitting just .170 with five extra-base hits

May 12, 2025By Yonhap
KBO-best Eagles lose starting shortstop to broken fibula
Sports

Koreans finding form and favor in English lower tiers

It’s not all about Son Heung-min and the English Premier League. There are growing numbers of South Korean stars lower down the English league system, which has the deepest and most solid soccer pyramid in the world. In the fourth tier, for example, Bradford City’s average attendance after 23 home games was over 17,000. In the third, Birmingham City managed around 27,000. In the season that just finished, Birmingham City ended up in first in the EFL League One and was promoted to The Championship League, the second tier but one of the most watched leagues in world soccer. It is home to a number of South Koreans. Paik Seung-ho, 28, joined Birmingham in January 2024 when the team was in The Championship but about to be moved down to League One. When the drop was confirmed, many thought that Paik should leave. After all, how could a player hope to be selected for the Korean national team when playing in the third tier? The midfielder said that he received offers from other clubs, but decided to stay. "Honestly, I thought I would definitely leave, but the manager is so good,” Paik sai

May 12, 2025By John Duerden
Koreans finding form and favor in English lower tiers
Sports

Giants' Lee Jung-hoo snaps hitless skid at 3 games

Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants has ended his longest hitless skid of this season at three games. Lee, batting third in the lineup, went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in a 7-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Sunday (local time). Lee had been held without a hit in his past three games, during which his batting average had fallen from .312 to .287. He is now batting .286 with a .333 on-base percentage and a .461 slugging percentage. After posting a .324/.369/.539 line in April, Lee has a .184/.200/.263 line so far in May. Lee, who had not gone back-to-back games without a hit until this mini-drought, singled off starter Pablo Lopez in the top of the first inning. Lee drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the top fifth, but did not have a hit after the opening frame. Elsewhere in Major League Baseball (MLB) on Sunday, Kim Hye-seong of the Los Angeles Dodgers batted 1-for-3 from No. 8 spot against the Arizona Diamondbacks but was thrown out at second base trying to stretch a base hit into a double. It would have been Kim's first extra-ba

May 12, 2025By Yonhap
Giants' Lee Jung-hoo snaps hitless skid at 3 games
Sports

Top-ranked Eagles take aim at franchise winning streak record; slugger eyes milestone home run

The Hanwha Eagles, the best team in Korean baseball at the moment, have not lost since the calendar flipped to May. After sweeping the last-place Kiwoom Heroes in their three-game weekend series, the Eagles stretched their winning streak to 12 games — their longest since they won 14 in a row in May 1992. And they will now have a six-game homestand this week in Daejeon, some 140 kilometers south of Seoul, to try to set a new franchise mark. With a record of 27-13-0 (wins-losses-ties), the Eagles lead the LG Twins (26-14-0) by a game in first place in the 10-team Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). The Eagles will open the week with a three-game series against the Doosan Bears starting Tuesday, followed by a three-game set against the SSG Landers from Friday to Sunday at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. The Eagles have been getting sublime starting pitching throughout their streak, and their top two starters, Cody Ponce and Ryan Weiss, delivered the goods once again on the weekend. Ponce held the Heroes to a run on three hits in six innings in a 9-1 victory Saturday. Then Weiss tossed eight s

May 12, 2025By Yonhap
Top-ranked Eagles take aim at franchise winning streak record; slugger eyes milestone home run
Sports

Korean LPGA veteran Kim Hyo-joo defends European Tour title at home

Korean LPGA star Kim Hyo-joo defended her Ladies European Tour (LET) title on home soil Sunday. Kim shot seven-under 209 at the 54-hole the Aramco Korea Championship at New Korea Country Club in Goyang, on the northwestern outskirts of Seoul, for a two-shot victory over Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland. Kim earned $225,000 in the winner's check. Kim, world No. 8, carded a three-under 69 in the final round to deny Tamburlini, who put up a 68, her fourth LET title. "I am so pleased to have come here as the defending champion and win again," Kim said. "I am especially happy to have created great memories with my fans here. The whole week has felt like a birthday." Kim entered the final round alone at the top at four-under, one ahead of Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa. Kim stumbled a bit with a bogey at the par-3 fourth but responded with a birdie at the par-4 sixth. After a birdie at the par-3 11th, Kim also made birdies on both of the two par-5 holes on the back nine, the 13th and the 17th. Tamburlini, who won three LET tournaments in 2024, made her final round charge with five birdies on the

May 11, 2025By Yonhap
Korean LPGA veteran Kim Hyo-joo defends European Tour title at home
Sports

With strong support system, Eagles ace Ponce having blast in 1st KBO season

Between going undefeated in his first eight starts and lifting his team to first place in the South Korean league, Hanwha Eagles pitcher Cody Ponce is having fun playing baseball again. Speaking to reporters Friday before the Eagles' road game against the Kiwoom Heroes in Seoul, Ponce thanked the support he has received from "everybody in this organization" so far in his first Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season. Without that, he doesn't think he would have been voted the Player of the Month for the March-April period. During that stretch, Ponce went 5-0 with a 1.96 ERA and struck out a league-best 61 in 46 innings. The Eagles won six out of Ponce's seven starts from March to April. "That's all I can really say: very grateful to all of my coaches for putting the game plans together, to my catchers, to all my defenders and everybody who just performs on the offense that's been behind me each and every game," Ponce said in the visitors' dugout at Gocheok Sky Dome. "I don't think I can express how much honor and gratitude I have towards everybody in this organization who's been there

May 10, 2025By Yonhap
With strong support system, Eagles ace Ponce having blast in 1st KBO season
Sports

Eagles manager hopes to avoid putting pressure on players amid long winning streak

The Hanwha Eagles are the hottest team in South Korean baseball at the moment, as their nine-game winning streak has pushed them to first place in the 10-team Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) standings with a 24-13-0 (wins-losses-ties) record. Their winning streak is all everyone in the KBO wants to talk about — well, almost everyone. With the Eagles trying to stretch their streak to 10 games against last-place Kiwoom Heroes on Friday in Seoul, their manager Kim Kyung-moon said the winning streak was the last thing he wanted to discuss. "It's obviously nice to go on a winning streak but I think it puts so much pressure on the players," Kim said in his pregame session at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. "I'd like to ask the media not to talk so much about our streak. If the manager talks about that in the media, then the players who see that will get stressed out." The Eagles had earlier won eight straight games. And after dropping two games in a row, they began the current streak. They have not won 10 straight games since 1999. The Eagles have a dominant starting rotation, featuring Cody Ponc

May 9, 2025By Yonhap
Eagles manager hopes to avoid putting pressure on players amid long winning streak
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