Hong takes blame after Korea’s loss leaves World Cup fate very much in doubt

National football team head coach Hong Myung-bo accepted the blame on Wednesday after his side's 0-1 loss to South Africa left them dependent on other results to advance from the World Cup group stage.

"The players gave everything they had. But after conceding first, we became impatient. We fought until the very end, but the result was disappointing. Today's result is my responsibility," said Hong after the match at Monterrey Stadium, Mexico. 

Group A, which includes Korea, has now completed all of its matches. Mexico's 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic on the same day sealed the final Group A standings: Mexico first, South Africa second and Korea third with one win and two losses. 

Korea will now wait to see whether their third-place finish is enough to advance to the knockout stage, with third-place results across all groups from A to L compared by points, goal difference and other criteria.

Korea on Wednesday dominated possession throughout the match, controlling the ball 68 percent of the time against South Africa's 32 percent, but struggled to convert that advantage into genuine scoring opportunities. The team trailed in all key attacking metrics — shots with 8-13, shots on target with 3-4 and key passes with 7-10.

With the team unable to break the deadlock in the first half, Hong brought on captain and talisman Son Heung-min at the start of the second, alongside attack-minded wingback Jens Castrop. The changes briefly lifted Korea's tempo, but South Africa retook the initiative and scored in the 63rd minute to claim the game's only goal.

Korea also lost key defender Kim Min-jae to an early substitution. Hong confirmed afterward that Kim had been taken off due to a calf injury.

BY KO BONG-JUN [[email protected]]

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