“I hope you support our players.”
Hong Myung-bo, head coach of the South Korean national soccer team, arrived in Muscat, Oman, on the 7th, three days before the second round of the Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup, and conducted his first training session.
Coach Hong, who met with reporters before training, sighed about the situation in which he was booed in the first round of the Palestinian match, saying, “It’s my first time, so I can’t say there’s nothing embarrassing about it.” “It’s a criticism that the coach can take, but I hope our players will support it,” he said, asking the fans.
Coach Hong also said, “Rather than connecting (the ground) to that (controversy over himself with the Korea Football Association), our players have to play anyway, so I would appreciate it if you could help them do a little better.”
The match against Palestine was a return match for Hong, who took the helm amid controversy over fairness in the appointment process. When Hong appeared on the electronic display even before kick-off, fans including the Red Devils booed him. In the process, there was an “unprecedented incident” in which the Red Devils and the Taeguk Warriors collided. Kim Min-jae (Munich) went to the stands where the Red Devils were located and made a gesture that seemed to protest the atmosphere, but criticism is also rising against Kim Min-jae.
Coach Hong said, “Kim Min-jae is a player who always appreciates the fans and plays with the support of the fans,” and added, “In a way, because of these things about me…He blurted out the end of his words and looked bitter.
The game itself was not going well either. Both Hong and the Korean national team are now in a corner from the start of their bid to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time. It is painful to lose a home victory against the Palestinians. 안전놀이터
“I’ve never experienced anything like this before, so I don’t know yet how the atmosphere, flow, players’ thoughts, and these things will continue in the next game,” Hong said. “The most important thing is the players’ solidarity and cohesion,” he said. “Even in this situation, it is my role to produce good results. I hope the players don’t think about other things too unnecessarily, and just focus on the game. That’s the best way to do it.”
The second Group B match of the third Asian qualifying round for the North-China World Cup against Oman, where Hong Myung-bo will challenge his first victory, will kick off at 11 p.m. Korean time on the 10th at the Sultan Qaboos Stadium in Muscat.