South Korea's Son Heung-min (7) reacts at the end of the World Cup Group A match against South Africa. | Photo Credit: AP

South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo said ​he had deliberately left captain Son ‌Heung-min on the bench in ​the hope the forward ⁠could exploit tiring South African legs after the break, but conceded his ‌side never found its rhythm in a 1-0 ‌defeat that left its World ‌Cup ⁠fate hanging in the ⁠balance on Wednesday.

“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 losing energy and there ‌was more space. We wanted ​to use him when they were weaker,” Hong ⁠said.

Son replaced Hwang Hee-chan at halftime but had little impact.

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

South Korea finished ⁠third in Group A with three points from three ‌games. Its qualification now depends on results from other groups.

Published on Jun 25, 2026