Match Day 3 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup continued on Wednesday with Group A taking to the pitch. Mexico had already secured a spot in the Knockout Stage, but South Korea and South Africa faced off with another spot on the line. South Korea came into the World Cup as one of the favorites to win Group A, led by Son Heung-min.
Now, South Korea will have to hope to advance as a third-place team, after a loss to South Africa and a controversial decision by coach Hong Myung-Bo, per Gabriel Tan of ESPN.
For the first time since joining the national team, Son Heung-min was not in the starting lineup. He is the most capped player in the history of the South Korea national team, and is second all-time in goals, but was on the bench to begin the game, leaving Hong to have to give an explanation for his decision.
“In terms of the process and preparing for this game, and how we would play on the field, that is something I put much thought into. Of course, if we knew what the result was going to be, I probably would have made different choices,” Hong said after the match. “But I had a strategy in mind. Whenever such a bad result happens, everyone has their own opinion. The result is really the responsibility of the head coach. Ultimately, it comes down to my hands. guess I made the wrong decisions and that was the reason we had a bad result. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Son would come into the game at the beginning of the second half, with the game still sitting at 0-0. He did not make the impact that was hoped for. South Africa would get a goal from Thapelo Maseko in the 63rd minute and secure their first-ever berth in the Knockout Stage.
“We thought that Son would be better placed [to make an impact] when the opponents were losing their energy, not when they had a lot of energy,” Hong added. “And when there were more spaces to exploit between the opponents’ defensive line, that’s when we wanted Son to be at his strongest — when the opponents were a bit weaker.”
South Africa will now face Canada in the Round of 32 on Sunday. Meanwhile, South Korea will need to wait until the end of the Group Stage to figure out if they are going home or not, as eight third-place teams will still advance to the Knockout Stage.
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