National Football Team Returns Home to Jeers After Failing to Reach World Cup Round of 32

Head Coach Hong Myung-bo and some players of the national football team have returned home after failing to advance past the group stage at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.

Coach Hong and nine national team players arrived at Incheon International Airport on the morning of Tuesday, June 30.

South Korea, which had aimed for a second consecutive away World Cup Round of 16 appearance following the 2022 Qatar tournament, finished third in Group A with 3 points from one win and two losses in this North and Central America tournament.

The team failed to advance to the Round of 32 after ranking 10th among the 12 third-placed teams.

In this tournament, which expanded to 48 participating countries, South Korea finished in 34th place, the lowest ranking in the nation's World Cup history.

The team, which had been waiting for the results of other group matches at their base camp in Guadalajara, Mexico, following their final group stage match against South Africa at Monterrey Stadium on June 25 (Korea Standard Time), began their bitter journey home after their elimination was confirmed.

Coach Hong, who announced his resignation at a local training ground in Mexico the previous day, returned today along with players Jo Hyeon-woo (Ulsan), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Paik Seung-ho (Birmingham City), Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Seol Young-woo (Crvena zvezda), and Oh Hyeon-gyu (Besiktas).

As criticism against Coach Hong, the national team, and the Korea Football Association intensified following the unexpected poor performance and loss against South Africa that led to their group stage elimination, police officers were deployed to the airport to prepare for any potential incidents.

Although the team arrived between 3:00 and 4:00 AM, more than 200 fans and YouTubers gathered at the scene, and shouting erupted in the arrival hall even before Coach Hong appeared after news of the flight's arrival spread.

As Coach Hong and the players entered the arrival hall alongside Park Hang-seo, the head of the national team support staff, and Kim Seung-hee, the association's executive director, the shouting and jeering from fans grew louder.

Coach Hong left the arrival hall without providing any specific response to questions from reporters, such as "Do you have anything to say to the fans"

The players departed first in vehicles prepared outside the gate, and the bus carrying association officials left the airport afterward.

Ahead of the national team's return, posts implying threats against Coach Hong were uploaded online, but no physical clashes occurred.

Other players, including "Captain" Son Heung-min (LAFC), are traveling in separate groups and are all expected to return by July 1.

Usually, a homecoming event is held at the airport when the squad returns after a World Cup finals campaign, but no such event was held this time.

This marks the first time since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, which South Korea co-hosted, that the national team has returned from an away World Cup without an airport arrival ceremony.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.