For individuals who worship on the altar of “a win is a win” mantra, the lads’s nationwide soccer crew had a extremely good yr, as they posted eight wins, three attracts and two losses.
Upon nearer inspection, although, it is not that troublesome to establish South Korea as a deeply flawed crew with points that should be addressed forward of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Coached by Hong Myung-bo, Twenty second-ranked South Korea defeated No. 76 Bolivia 2-0 final Friday after which No. 73 Ghana 1-0 on Tuesday of their remaining two matches of the yr. Whereas Hong harassed the significance of outcomes above all else — with South Korea needing to win to take care of their FIFA rating spot and guarantee themselves a good place within the World Cup draw subsequent month — the crew’s incapacity to beat underdog opponents convincingly didn’t sit effectively with followers.
That was the recurring theme all year long, with South Korea persistently underperforming and failing to stay as much as expectations of the more and more stressed fan base.
South Korea opened the yr with consecutive 1-1 attracts at dwelling towards two heavy underdogs, Oman and Jordan. These matches got here through the third spherical of the Asian World Cup qualification, and Hong referred to as the Oman draw “the worst efficiency” by his facet throughout that part.
South Korea righted the ship and gained the following two matches to punch their ticket to the World Cup in June. Then in July, because the host of the East Asian Soccer Federation E-1 Soccer Championship, South Korea defeated China and Hong Kong in succession earlier than falling to Japan with the regional title on the road.
South Korea traveled to America for 2 friendlies in September and beat the USA 2-0 earlier than taking part in Mexico to a 2-2 draw.
That win over the U.S. was South Korea’s most full effort of the yr, with the strong protection shutting down the top-20 opponent, whereas captain Son Heung-min did his factor with a aim and an help.
Then got here the embarrassing, 5-0 loss to Brazil in entrance of over 63,000 followers at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Oct. 10, a match so lopsided that South Korea may simply have misplaced by a much bigger margin.
Followers then began staying away, with solely 22,000 of them readily available to look at the nationwide crew beat Paraguay 2-0 on the identical Seoul stadium on Oct. 14. It was the smallest crowd for a males’s nationwide soccer crew match in 10 years. The Ghana match on Tuesday, additionally performed in Seoul, drew about 33,000 followers. Even contemplating the chilly situations, it was an incredibly low quantity for what may have been South Korea’s remaining match at dwelling earlier than the World Cup — with the Korea Soccer Affiliation making an attempt to schedule tuneup matches in March subsequent yr earlier than the large event rolls round in June.
Since taking on the crew in the summertime of 2024 for his second stint with South Korea, Hong has typically been criticized for missing tactical creativity and relying too closely on particular person expertise of some gamers to generate possibilities. The offense below Hong has typically lacked circulate and has been too predictable.
It is one factor to have the likes of Son and playmaking midfielder Lee Kang-in do the heavy lifting with their brilliance in pleasant matches or World Cup qualifiers towards lowly foes. On the World Cup, although, South Korea will run into harder opponents whose defenses will zero in on these stars with added depth and can pressure South Korea to search out alternative ways to attain.
Within the two November matches, South Korea sorely missed midfielder Hwang In-beom, who suffered a thigh harm earlier within the month whereas taking part in for his Dutch membership Feyenoord. Not one of the remaining midfielders got here near matching Hwang’s two-way excellence — his potential to make stops on protection and create scoring possibilities seemingly out of nothing together with his good passes — and the 2 matches felt particularly slowed down.
Hong acknowledged Tuesday that the subpar efficiency by his midfielders dragged the remainder of the crew down towards Ghana, although he additionally predicted that Hwang’s eventual return for the World Cup will clear up lots of the issues seen this month.
That the absence of 1 participant, nevertheless essential, can alter the crew’s trajectory a lot is a priority in and of itself.
Lee Kang-in, who has progressively emerged because the vocal chief of the nationwide crew, mentioned Tuesday he and his teammates will attempt to block out noise coming from exterior their locker room.
“Soccer followers all have totally different views, and even gamers have alternative ways of watching and understanding the sport. I can completely see why followers really feel the way in which they do about our crew,” the 24-year-old mentioned. “Nonetheless, fairly than paying a lot consideration to these voices, we’re all making an attempt to assist the crew one of the best we will. It would be nice if we will play the way in which that may fulfill everybody. However as we prepare for the World Cup, I believe we should always focus extra on making performs that profit the crew and on serving to one another.”
Hwang Hee-chan, a veteran of 75 caps, mentioned 2025 was a fruitful yr for the nationwide crew as a result of they gained so many video games towards “some actually robust groups.”
“In soccer, outcomes are actually essential, and we had been in a position to produce the outcomes we needed this yr,” Hwang mentioned. “I believe these two matches right here had been big. This camp introduced us even nearer as a crew, and we have grown extra assured that we will actually get the job accomplished. I can not await our subsequent match window (in March).”
