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| Korean team players bow in front of spectators after a Group H match against Belgium at the Itaquerao Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday. / AP-Yonhap |
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SAO PAULO ― That's it for another four years as South Korea exited the 2014 World Cup with a 1-0 defeat to Belgium on Friday morning Seoul time with only a minimum of fuss.
When the dust settles, the debate will turn to what needs to be done to ensure that there is another chance in four years. Given the form demonstrated in Brazil, that is not a given.
For now though, suffice to say that the team was just not good enough against Belgium and in the tournament in general. The odds were long before the game in Sao Paulo, but the Europeans did everything they could to give the Asians a helping hand. Already through to the second round, coach Marc Wilmots rested most of his stars. And then, late in the first half, Steven Defour was sent off after stomping on the shin of Kim Shin-wook.
At that moment, the dream of progressing to the last 16 for the third time was possible. Korea needed to defeat Belgium by two goals at least and hope that Algeria did not defeat Russia in Group H's other game. With Russia taking a first-half lead and Hong Myung-bo's men ready to take advantage of their one-man advantage, the second round, while still not close, suddenly seemed not quite so far away.
But it never really happened and it never really looked like it was going to happen. In recent World Cups, when Korea exited there has been either excitement, pride, controversy or anger. Sometimes there was a combination of all four. In Brazil there was just quiet resignation ― and that was perhaps the worst of all.
Even with the extra man, Korea showed little imagination going forward and little idea of how to break down a team that remained well organized and retained its threat going forward.
At the back, there was improvement after the Algeria debacle, but in midfield and going forward, Korea was lacking. Korea worked hard but at the highest levels, more than sweat is needed. The team saw plenty of the ball in the second half but did not create enough opportunity. The closer Korea's players came to the Belgian penalty area, the fewer ideas and less composure they seemed to have. There were plenty of crosses and passes into the area, but few created problems.
It was only very late in the game, after Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen scored from close range, that there was serious pressure on the Belgian goal. By that stage, however, a goal, a point and some pride was the best that could have been hoped for. Hopes of the second round had long since disappeared.
There were some positives. Son Heung-min had a good tournament and the attacker, 21, is on the way to becoming a genuine star. Midfielder Ki Seung-yeung was another standout, but elsewhere it is more difficult to point to players who emerged with reputations enhanced.
Big-name players such as Park Chu-young, Lee Chung-yong and Koo Ja-cheol did not deliver when they were needed. And the defense may have been OK against Russia and Belgium, but its first-half collapse against Algeria destroyed the 2014 dream.
There have already been questions asked of coach Hong and when he returns to Incheon International Airport, there are going to be many more. This was his first senior tournament and finishing at the bottom of the group with a point was not the way it was supposed to go.
Hong has much learning to do and Korean soccer as a whole has much to think about.
John Duerden is writing for The Korea Times on Korea's campaign in the World Cup in Brazil. ― ED.
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