Team Korea led by “captain” Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) to leave the team due to controversy over the appointment of coach Hong Myung-bo. Team Korea led by Coach Hong Myung-bo, which is shaky inside and outside, will depart for the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North Korea, China and the U.S.
According to the Korea Football Association, the Korean national soccer team will convene at 11 p.m. on Wednesday at Incheon International Airport and depart for Jordan at around 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday via Doha, Qatar. The team will fly to Jordan as soon as possible without any training in Korea to adjust quickly.
The main team will be comprised of a small group of eight players and coaches including coach Hong Myung-bo. Lee Dong-kyung (Kim Cheon Sang-moo), Lee Myung-jae, Joo Min-kyu, Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan HD), Kim Joo-sung (FC Seoul), Hwang Moon-ki (Gangwon FC) and Kim Joon-hong (Jeonbuk Hyundai) will play the final round of the K League 1 regular round on the day before heading to Incheon International Airport. Oh Se-hoon, who plays for Japan’s Machida Zelvia, will also leave for Korea after visiting Korea. The rest of the overseas players will join the national team in Jordan after completing their respective team schedules.
Hong Myung-bo will play the third Group B match of the third Asian qualifying round for the North-China World Cup, which will be held at Amman International Stadium in Amman, Jordan, at 11 p.m. on the 10th (Korea time). He will then return to his country and face Iraq at 8 p.m. on the 16th at Mir Stadium in Yongin. After the match against Jordan, he will use a chartered plane with the Red Devils and the media.
Coach Hong Myung-bo, who has been under intense criticism for his unfairness in the process of appointing the national team coach, is set to leave the country with a lot of pressure. Earlier, Hong attended a question on pending issues at the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee amid controversy over the process of appointing the head coach, and recently, the results of a specific audit by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism were announced that they violated regulations and procedures in the process of appointing the head coach.
Moreover, criticism is mounting due to his poor performance and only one win and one draw in the two consecutive games against Palestine and Oman held last month. In the match against the “weakest” Palestinians held on their home turf, they drew 0-0 without scoring a single goal, and in the away match against Oman, they managed to break the balance until the end of the second half, before winning their first victory.
To make matters worse, in the two consecutive games against Jordan and Iraq, “captain” Son Heung-min was left with a hamstring injury. Coach Hong, who originally included Son Heung-min on the national team’s list, eventually replaced Hong Hyun-suk (Mainz 05) except for Son Heung-min as he recovered more from his injury. It is the first time since January 2022 that the national team will play a World Cup qualifying match without Son Heung-min.
Jordan is ranked 68th in FIFA rankings, which is 45 notches lower than Korea (23rd), but the team was lagging behind Korea with one draw and one loss at the AFC Asian Cup this year. Jordan was the team that lost 2-2 in the group league and 0-2 in the semifinals. Iraq, which will face off at home, was also considered a tricky opponent as it was a team that was in Port 2 after Korea (Port 1) in the third qualifying round for the World Cup. 스포츠토토
Amid the bad news of Son Heung-min’s absence, if his performance or results are not good in the two consecutive games against Jordan and Iraq, Hong Myung-bo is expected to be pushed to the brink. Currently, South Korea is leading with four points (1 win and 1 draw) along with Jordan and Iraq, but if the results of the two consecutive games are not good, it could be pushed out of the second place, which is the direct ranking of the World Cup finals. Earlier, Hong Myung-bo said at the time of the National Assembly’s questioning on the issue (the process of appointing a coach), “I have no intention of resigning over this issue,” but added, “Of course, if the performance is not good, I can be fired one day. That’s why I think it’s my role to make the team really strong for the rest of the year.”