South Korea football coach quits as president calls for probe into World Cup loss
It still gave them hope to qualify for the next round under a new rule introduced with this tournament's expansion from 32 to 48 teams, which allows the eight best third-placed teams in the group stage to progress to the knockout round. But on Saturday, they were knocked out because of the other teams' final scores.Fans blame Hong, who has been coaching the team for the past two years. The former defender was a hero of South Korea's 2002 World Cup success, having captained the team to a historic semi-final finish.
- ▪It still gave them hope to qualify for the next round under a new rule introduced with this tournament's expansion from 32 to 48 teams, which allows the eight best third-placed teams in the group stage to progress to the knockout round.
- ▪But on Saturday, they were knocked out because of the other teams' final scores.Fans blame Hong, who has been coaching the team for the past two years.
- ▪The former defender was a hero of South Korea's 2002 World Cup success, having captained the team to a historic semi-final finish.
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South Korea football coach quits as president calls for probe into World Cup lossImage source, ReutersImage caption, This is Hong's second stint as head coach of team South KoreaByJake Kwon, Seoul correspondent and Fan WangPublished29 June 2026, 04:34 BSTUpdated 34 minutes agoHong Myung-bo has resigned as head coach of South Korea's men's national football team after they failed to advance to the World Cup knockout stage.The team had hoped they could still qualify for the next round of the tournament as one of the best third-placed teams, but that hope was quashed on Saturday.The early exit has prompted widespread criticism at home, with President Lee Jae Myung calling for an investigation into reasons behind the team's disappointing performance.Hong apologised to fans on Sunday and said…
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