Son Heung-min starts on bench for first time at World Cup as South Korea fall to South Africa

South Korea captain Son Heung-min (LAFC) said he felt frustrated and sorry after starting on the bench for the first time at a World Cup and being unable to prevent his side's defeat when he came on as a substitute.

Speaking to reporters after Wednesday's 2026 FIFA World Cup Group A match against South Africa at Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, Mexico, Son said he was "more disappointed than anyone" and that it was "only natural" for players to feel deflated when results did not go their way.

Son began the match on the bench and was brought on at the start of the second half to replace Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers).

It marked the first time Son had not started a World Cup match since making his tournament debut at the 2014 Brazil World Cup.

On being left out of the starting lineup, Son said the coach had informed him in advance. "I don't think there is anything I need to add," he said. "Watching the team lose and feeling like I couldn't do enough to help on the pitch — I feel very sorry about that."

Asked whether the heat had affected the team's performance, Son pushed back. "We are not the only ones playing in this weather — everyone was in the same conditions," he said. "That is not something we should use as an excuse."

He added that the team needed to take a hard look at what had realistically gone wrong.

Son said there were no issues with team morale. "The players are clearly putting in the effort, so it is frustrating when things don't work out like this," he said. "It is heartbreaking and upsetting." He added that the players were probably the most upset of all, and that he felt the same way, but was honest in saying there had been no problems with the atmosphere or team spirit.

On South Korea's situation — needing to wait on results from other groups to see whether a third-place finish would be enough to advance to the round of 32 — Son called it "ironic" and said it was "hard to know whether to call it unfortunate or just a waste." "Personally, this is not a situation I wanted to be in — waiting to see whether we go through as third place or not," he said. "It is out of our hands now, so whatever the result, we will have to accept it."

South Korea, managed by Hong Myung-bo, lost 0-1 to South Africa on Wednesday, finishing third in Group A with three points and failing to secure automatic advancement to the round of 32.

At the post-match news conference, Hong took full responsibility for the result. "On a stage this big, the result is entirely the manager's responsibility," he said. "In the end, everything was my judgment and my decision."

On the decision to leave Son out of the starting lineup, Hong said he judged that Son would be more effective later in the match. "I decided it would be better for Son Heung-min to score when some space opened up after 45 minutes, rather than in the first half when the opposition still had their energy," he said.

Asked whether uncontrollable factors such as a mass food poisoning incident had played a role, Hong was dismissive. "There was nothing of the sort," he said. "I have no desire to shift the blame in that direction. It is true that this was our worst performance of the three group-stage matches."

Hong said the players had been fully aware of how they needed to play. "They also knew how the match needed to be finished," he said.

"However, after conceding we became rushed, and that is how we ended up losing," he said. "I thought we had prepared well for this World Cup. All of those choices were mine."

Hong acknowledged there had been mistakes in central areas that undermined the team's confidence. "We knew how this match needed to end, but as with the Mexico game, had we focused a little more on wide play, we could have done more to contain South Africa's most dangerous weapon — the counterattack," he said.