[Anchor]

Head coach Hong Myung-bo’s decisions in the match against South Africa were difficult to comprehend. From leaving captain Son Heung-min out of the starting lineup to the sluggish offensive approach in the final minutes while trailing—as if the team were leading—both his personnel management and tactics were riddled with questions.

Reporter Ha Seong-nyong has the story.

[Reporter]

When the starting lineup was announced one hour before kickoff, the world was taken by surprise.

It was because captain Son Heung-min, the pillar of Korean football, had been excluded from the starting eleven.

Head coach Hong Myung-bo explained that it was a decision made with the second half in mind.

[Hong Myung-bo/Head Coach of the National Football Team: My judgment was that rather than having (Son Heung-min) play when the opponent is fresh in the first half, it would be better to put him in after 45 minutes when more space opens up.]

Coach Hong’s intentions did not work at all.

He deployed Oh Hyeon-gyu and Hwang Hee-chan in place of Son in the first half to rattle the opponent’s defense with high pressure, but such pressure was rarely seen.

The price for the failed pressure was high.

South African midfielders with strong dribbling and speed, such as Maseko and Mbatha, freely led counterattacks and took control of the flow of the game.

The team’s organization was also in shambles.

Perhaps due to fatigue, the gap between the defense and offense widened, causing the team to consistently lose the numbers game in midfield. Lee Kang-in, the focal point of the attack, could not find anyone to pass to and had to drop deep to receive the ball, struggling to create any real opportunities.

[Jang Ji-hyun/SBS Commentator: Pattern plays through one-touch connections, attacking the half-spaces—various aspects all collapsed at once. It was a first half where everything was problematic across the board.]

The attack showed a brief spark when Son Heung-min and Castrop were substituted in at the start of the second half, but the plan went awry again after conceding a goal from a single counterattack.

With South Africa holding the lead and refusing to push their defensive line up, Son’s attempts to penetrate the space behind the defense were ineffective.

Tall striker Cho Gue-sung was brought on, but he had no impact as quality crosses failed to materialize.

The game management in the final minutes of the second half was shocking.

Despite trailing, the team maintained a "three-back" defense without increasing the number of attacking players, as if they were the ones in the lead.

Coach Hong, who had tested a four-back formation during friendly matches despite much controversy to prepare for situations where an aggressive approach was needed, hesitated to make tactical changes when they were most required.

Coach Hong, who watched the defeat from the bench until the final moment, stated that the responsibility lies with him.

[Hong Myung-bo/Head Coach of the National Football Team: Ultimately, everything was judged and decided by me, and since I made the wrong judgments and decisions, I believe that is why the results were not good.]

This shocking defeat to South Africa, a team considered a "must-win" opponent, will remain a painful humiliation in the history of Korean football.

(Video coverage: Hwang In-seok, Video editing: Ha Seong-won)