Cho Won-hee criticizes Jens Castrop's performance against South Africa: 'He barely moved'

Former South Korea international and KBS commentator Cho Won-hee criticized the performance of substitute Jens Castrop in South Korea's match against South Africa.

Cho appeared on KBS's "Toegeungil World Cup" on Thursday to review the match.

Earlier that day, South Korea, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, lost 1-0 to South Africa in their third and final Group A match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, Mexico.

The defeat left South Korea with three points, dropping to third place in Group A. South Africa, meanwhile, secured second place with four points, dramatically advancing to the round of 32.

Sitting third in Group A, South Korea must now wait on results from the remaining groups. The team needs to finish among the top eight third-place finishers across all 12 groups to advance to the round of 32.

Speaking after the match, Cho said, "Jens came on in the second half. I want to be blunt about this. He was a substitute coming on in the second half — that means he should have been moving actively and putting in crosses in one-on-one situations. But I never saw him make a single run in behind. And when Son Heung-min or Lee Kang-in had the ball, he should have been making runs to receive it. But he stayed back the whole time and never came forward."

Cho added, "Jens had no movement at all. It felt like his legs were full of lactic acid and just would not move. When you come on as a substitute, if you have not warmed up properly, you can struggle to match the tempo of the game. Normally Jens is a player who constantly runs up and down — a box-to-box midfielder. But on Thursday he could not get forward at all. It was almost painful to watch. I think there was a fitness issue."

Cho also said Castrop was at fault for the goal South Korea conceded. "The same goes for the goal we gave away. Jens should have dropped back and positioned himself ahead of the opposing striker before the danger developed. He was in the right spot when the shot came in, but earlier, when the cross was delivered, he was behind the opposing forward. That is why he was too slow to react to the shot."