'Benching Son a failure': Foreign media pan Hong Myung-bo's tactics after South Africa draw

Major international outlets criticized South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo's tactics after the team failed to secure a direct berth in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with particular scorn directed at his decision to leave Son Heung-min out of the starting lineup.

Sports outlet The Athletic reported immediately after Wednesday's match that "South Africa's stunning upset set up a showdown with Canada, while South Korea were left in shock after Son Heung-min was named on the bench."

"Son's presence in South Korea is absolute — when the lineup was revealed, it felt like a mistake in the squad sheet," The Athletic said. "Hong Myung-bo may have made a bold call to spark his team, but ultimately that tactical choice only raised the stakes riding on the result."

ESPN also singled out the starting lineup that omitted Son, saying Hong's decision to shake up the first eleven ultimately amounted to a "failure."

The BBC criticized South Korea's one-dimensional attack, writing that "Korea had the ball for most of the game, but it was South Africa, looking to hit on the counter, who created the more threatening chances." The broadcaster added that South Korea "barely threatened South Africa apart from Oh Hyeon-gyu's header and an early shot from Lee Kang-in."

The Guardian, which provided live match commentary, played on the similar pronunciation of "Seoul" and "soul" to describe the result as "Seoul-crushing."

Meanwhile, with all Group A through C matches now complete, The Athletic put South Korea's probability of advancing to the round of 32 at 94%. However, the figure changes daily as the final group-stage matches in the remaining nine groups — D through L — have yet to be played.