“They tell me to get out of the national team right now, but...” Hwang In-beom breaks down as Lee Kang-in comforts him over his agonizing inner turmoil

[Financial News] “On a night of joy as captain Son Heung-min shattered a 48-year-old record, the atmosphere at Sangam Stadium was actually as cold as a patch of thin ice.”
A huge rumor emerged that the trio of peers born in 1996 who were supposed to lead a renaissance in South Korean football—Kim Min-jae (FC Bayern Munich), Hwang Hee-chan (Schalke) and Hwang In-beom (FC Porto)—would retire from the national team together. The rumor that key players, disillusioned with the national team’s unstable state, were preparing to give up their places was enough to overshadow even the joy of a 2-0 victory.
This is how the rumor began. After repeatedly turning in poor performances over their last four matches, the players—who had made pointed remarks such as “Only the defenders are pitiful” (Kim Min-jae) and “There are no adults to help us” (Hwang In-beom)—were spotted taking a commemorative photo together with gloomy expressions immediately after the match against Uzbekistan.
The mixed zone after the match. After reporters waited persistently, it was the “midfield general,” Hwang In-beom, who finally stood before the microphones. He tried to smile at the blunt question about the retirement rumors, but his words revealed the anguish he had endured as a national-team ace.

Hwang In-beom first denied the rumor that he had cried while taking the photo. But he bowed his head over the tears he shed after the match against Venezuela and his remarks about the “interim coach.”
He explained, “I absolutely did not mean that the coach wasn’t doing his best because he was going to leave anyway. What I meant was that the uncertainty itself was wrong—we didn’t know whether the coach would stay on or be replaced again ahead of the Asian Cup, which we haven’t won in a long time. But I reacted too emotionally. I deeply apologize to my teammates and the coaching staff.” He acknowledged that his frustration with the Football Association’s stopgap measures had led to a misunderstanding and apologized candidly.
He also opened up about being hurt by fans’ excessive criticism.
Hwang In-beom admitted feeling helpless, saying, “The assessments swing from one extreme to the other from one game to the next. Some days I hear, ‘You’re a truly important player,’ but on others I get a huge number of messages saying, ‘I wish you’d disappear from the national team now.’”

He continued, “As I become one of the senior players, I go into each game thinking, ‘This could be my last.’ Watching older teammates retire, I’m also preparing myself to accept that it’s wise to know how to put your playing career down gracefully.” His words left a lingering impression. He also smiled ruefully, saying that when the youngest player, Lee Kang-in (Atlético Madrid), comforted him with, “Bro, you’ve been through a lot—why are you saying that?”, it made him even more tearful.
The Korea Football Association immediately moved to quell the rumors. An association official dismissed them, saying, “The retirement rumors are completely unfounded and plainly false reports.”
But the highlight of the truth game came after midnight. It was confirmed that Hwang In-beom, Kim Min-jae and Hwang Hee-chan had held a secret late-night meeting in the locker room with Hyun Young-min, chair of the National Team Strengthening Committee.
At around 12:05 a.m. on the 7th, Kim Min-jae, who emerged first after the meeting with a stern expression, left the stadium without answering reporters’ questions. Hwang Hee-chan came out afterward and also remained silent.

But at the final moment, it was Hwang In-beom once again who opened the door to the truth. At last, he spoke in response to reporters’ persistent questions about whether he would retire.
“No, no.”
It was a firm denial. Despite the mental strain, the barrage of criticism and deep doubts about a national-team system that had lost its way, the trio of golden-generation players born in 1996 ultimately did not give up the Taegeuk mark on their chests.
Asked whether he would answer the call if Coach Moreno selected him for the next squad, Hwang In-beom replied, “That’s for the coach to decide.”
Moreno’s first four-match stretch, played amid stormy conditions, came to a close, leaving behind the starkest contrast in South Korean football: the record-breaking feat of the all-time greatest striker and the impassioned, red-eyed confession of a key midfielder.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter