"I’ll Take All the Misfortune"... Cho Yu-min Leaves on Crutches, a Tearful Farewell That Moved Hong Myung-bo's Team

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[Financial News] It is only natural for a parent to feel their heart sink at even a small scrape on the knee of a seven-year-old child running and playing on a weekend field. It is even harder to imagine the anguish of a player who, after devoting a lifetime of sweat and sacrifice to reach the World Cup stage, must pack up alone on crutches just days before the dream becomes reality.
A heartbreaking farewell has struck Hong Myung-bo's team, which had been cruising toward its first-ever away quarterfinal. Cho Yu-min of Sharjah FC, who had made the final roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and was training hard at a pre-camp in Utah, United States, has ultimately left the national team after an unexpected injury.
The tragedy came without warning. During a warm-up match against Trinidad and Tobago on the 1st, Cho Yu-min cleanly won the ball from an opponent without any collision, but then felt severe pain in his right foot and collapsed to the ground. Even before the diagnosis, concern had spread as he was carried off on a staff member's back. He was later found to have a partial tear in the plantar fascia near the heel of his right foot. The injury requires at least eight weeks of recovery, and his World Cup clock came to a cruel stop.
A video released by the Korea Football Association (KFA) on the 2nd showed a moving scene of Cho Yu-min packing his bags and saying his final goodbyes to his teammates. Appearing in the lobby on crutches with one leg in a cast, he forced a smile and hugged each teammate one by one, but in the end he could not hold back the tears.
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His final words were less about regret than about sincere support for his teammates.
"I wanted to help the team in any way I could, and I’m so sorry and ashamed to be leaving first," Cho Yu-min said, his eyes reddening. "I’ll take all the misfortune and bad luck that could come to the team and go back to Korea with it. I’ll leave only the desperation I prepared with here, so no one else gets hurt and everyone can come back with good results."
Back at the hotel on the afternoon of the 2nd, Cho Yu-min opened up on social media about the painful thoughts he had not yet been able to express.
He said he had prepared for the tournament with more determination than anyone else, using the harsh criticism and reproach he faced during the World Cup qualifiers as motivation. In a painful confession, he said, "I think I tried to hold on too tightly, and in the end I broke." Even so, he showed maturity by adding, "I hope this moment will lead to greater growth later. I’ll get through it in my own way, stubbornly and bravely."
As Cho Yu-min leaves behind the burden of misfortune he carried alone, the shoulders of the remaining Taeguk Warriors have grown heavier. Hong Myung-bo's team, having received the baton of "desperation" that Cho Yu-min left behind, has brought in replacement player Jo Wi-je of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC and is tightening its boots once again.
The national team is set to finish its final warm-up before heading to Mexico for the decisive stage, with a solemn resolve to play for Cho Yu-min's share as well in its last tune-up against El Salvador on the 4th.
jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter