Hong Myung-bo Fails to Redeem Reputation After Second World Cup Exit

The second attempt by head coach Hong Myung-bo (57) to lead the national team at the FIFA World Cup has ended in failure.
The South Korean national football team, led by Hong, finished third in Group A of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup with a record of one win and two losses.
Although the top eight third-place teams out of 12 groups were eligible to advance to the Round of 32, the fading hopes for South Korea were completely extinguished on June 28, the final day of the group stage.
This tournament marks the seventh World Cup appearance for Hong, combining his career as both a player and a coach.
As a player, Hong participated in four consecutive World Cups from the 1990 tournament in Italy to the 2002 Korea-Japan tournament. He later served as a coach under Dick Advocaat (Netherlands) for the 2006 tournament in Germany.
He first took the helm of the national team for the 2014 Brazil World Cup and returned to lead the Taegeuk Warriors 12 years later at this year's North and Central America tournament.
Hong is the only head coach to have led the South Korean national team—which has reached the World Cup finals 11 consecutive times and 12 times in total—in two separate tournaments.
Previously, coaches who failed were rarely given a chance to redeem their reputations, nor were those who had achieved glory by reaching the semifinals or leading the team to the Round of 16 in an away tournament given a second opportunity.
However, Hong, who had experienced a bitter taste of defeat at the Brazil tournament, was given his first opportunity to manage the national team at the World Cup once again.
At the Brazil World Cup, Hong suffered the greatest trial of his football career, returning home after failing to secure a single win, finishing with one draw and two losses amid controversies over his selection of players.
At that time, his record during his one-year tenure as head coach was five wins, four draws, and 10 losses.
After Hong returned as head coach in July 2024, the appointment process was marred by allegations of unfairness, leaving a deep scar on South Korean football.
The Hong Myung-bo era entered the North and Central America World Cup without the support of the public.
The group draw for this tournament was relatively favorable, and the path for the subsequent knockout stage appeared manageable if the group stage standing was handled well.
Things looked promising when Hong secured his first World Cup victory as a head coach in his fourth match, a 2-1 comeback win against the Czech Republic in the opening game.
Hong became the sixth head coach in South Korean football history to lead the team to a World Cup victory, following Guus Hiddink (Netherlands, 3 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses in the 2002 Korea-Japan tournament), Dick Advocaat (1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss in the 2006 Germany tournament), Huh Jung-moo (1 win, 1 draw, 2 losses in the 2010 South Africa tournament), Shin Tae-yong (1 win, 2 losses in the 2018 Russia tournament), and Paulo Bento (Portugal, 1 win, 1 draw, 2 losses in the 2022 Qatar tournament).
He was the third South Korean coach to achieve this, following Huh Jung-moo and Shin Tae-yong.
He was one win away from becoming the second coach after Hiddink, and the first South Korean coach, to secure two World Cup victories.
However, after a 0-1 loss to co-host Mexico and a lackluster 0-1 defeat to South Africa, considered the weakest team in the group, Hong's World Cup journey came to an end.
Having managed only six matches across two tournaments—fewer than Hiddink (seven matches)—Hong's final record as a World Cup head coach stands at one win, one draw, and four losses.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.