South Korea crash out in a tournament where even Cape Verde advanced... Korean football defies common sense, ending a string of false hope in its worst-ever disaster [2026 FIFA World Cup]

[Financial News] There was no miracle. In fact, hoping for one may have been unrealistic from the start. Three brutal days of false hope, during which fans watched other teams' results with bated breath, ended in the most devastating and humiliating way possible. The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which had generated the greatest expectations in South Korean football history, will go down as its darkest chapter.
It was the Democratic Republic of the Congo that finally cut off the oxygen supply for South Korean football, which had been hanging on by a thread after falling to third in the group. On the 28th local time, the Democratic Republic of the Congo crushed Uzbekistan 3-1 and pushed South Korea, which had been clinging to the last possible path to the round of 32, over the cliff.
It is a painful and sobering reality. This tournament expanded to 48 teams, with 32 advancing to the knockout stage, making the path to the next round easier than ever. Cape Verde, an African island nation of just 520,000 people, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which delivered the death blow to South Korea, both secured round-of-32 tickets with confidence. Yet South Korea, with its golden generation of Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae, was not even invited to the party and had to pack up in silence.
Looking back, the seeds of this terrible tragedy were already planted at the starting line. The Korea Football Association's haphazard process of appointing a head coach, which completely discarded common sense and fairness, enraged fans and weakened leadership on the bench from the very beginning.

Of course, there were moments when a comeback still seemed possible on the pitch. In the opening match, South Korea showed fighting spirit with a 2-1 comeback win over Czech Republic. In the second match against host Mexico at an altitude of 1,500 meters, the team lost 1-0, but still proved its resilience.
The problem was the third match against South Africa, where everything was set up in South Korea's favor. Needing only a draw to reach the round of 32, Hong Myung-bo made a fatal self-inflicted mistake by inexplicably leaving ace Son Heung-min on the bench. The result was a 0-1 disaster in which tactics and organization completely collapsed. After the match, the manager's absurd excuse that he could not find an answer for why the team played that way only drove a deeper nail into the hearts of the 50 million people at home and the Korean community in Mexico who had spent the night in anguish.
Twelve years ago, at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Hong Myung-bo stepped down in disgrace after a miserable record of one draw and two losses. This time, he has once again dragged South Korean football into the mire with his own hands.
The real crisis starts now. Failing to reach the round of 32 is more than just an early exit from the tournament. It signals the collapse of the entire South Korean football system. With Korea Football Association president Chung Mong-gyu set to resign after the World Cup, Hong Myung-bo, who is also under intense public fire, is in an impossible position and may struggle to keep his job. With the Asian Games coming up in September and the AFC Asian Cup set for next January, South Korean football has fallen into a complete vacuum of uncertainty.
jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter