[Anchor]

What makes it even more heartbreaking is that our players held onto a glimmer of hope and continued their training until this morning, June 28. They desperately vowed that if given another chance, they would "give their all on the pitch," but they have now been forced to pack their bags in vain.

Reporting from Guadalajara, here is Lee Jeong-Chan.

[Reporter]

After taking a rest yesterday, the South Korean players returned to training with heavy expressions.

Most of the players, including captain Son Heung-min, ran in silence with grim faces. Even though the coaches tried to lift the mood with applause and shouts of encouragement, it was to no avail.

[Kim Jin-kyu / National Football Team Midfielder: The silence felt incredibly long.]

[Yang Hyun-jun / National Football Team Midfielder: Honestly, the atmosphere is not good right now, so we have to watch and cheer for the remaining matches in other groups.]

The players expressed their desperate hope that a slim chance might turn into reality.

[Yang Hyun-jun / National Football Team Midfielder: I feel so sorry for the fans, so (if we were to reach the Round of 32), we would have to give our absolute all. Whether we are given five minutes or ten, I believe we must show a true will to win.]

[Kim Jin-kyu / National Football Team Midfielder: I would run like a madman. We would prepare so that we never show such a helpless performance as we did in the third match again, and we would reflect on everything, including our mental state.]

After finishing training, the players returned to their accommodation and anxiously watched the matches from other groups.

In particular, they watched the Group K match during dinner and cheered for Uzbekistan, but when the Democratic Republic of the Congo scored a comeback goal and then a clincher, some players were reportedly left devastated, according to a team official.

The national team will hold a wrap-up press conference tomorrow and immediately begin their journey home.

The goddess of victory was ultimately not on our side.

Our World Cup journey has come to such a hollow and bitter end.

(Video coverage: Hwang In-seok, Video editing: Jeon Min-gyu)