South Korea squad returns home with heavy hearts after Hong Myung-bo's resignation

South Korea's national football team has begun its journey home after a group-stage exit at the 2026 North America World Cup, with coach Hong Myung-bo's resignation bringing a somber close to the campaign.

The squad held a farewell ceremony Monday (Korea time) at their World Cup base in Guadalajara, Mexico, marking the official end of the tournament for the team. The final formal event was Hong's resignation press conference, in which he took responsibility for the group-stage elimination.

Players began departing individually from local noon. The main group traveling with Hong and the coaching and support staff includes eight players: Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham), Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Seol Young-woo (Zvezda).

The players, who had stayed at the Westin Hotel in downtown Guadalajara during the tournament, left their accommodation with downcast expressions. The main group will transit through the United States before arriving at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday. The airport homecoming event — a tradition kept consistently since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup — will not be held this time.

Three players — Jens Castrop (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Park Jin-seop (Zhejiang) and Cho Gue-sung (FC Midtjylland) — will return directly to their respective clubs.

Captain Son Heung-min (Los Angeles FC) and the remaining players are expected to make their way home separately or return to their clubs.

South Korea entered the tournament aiming for their first-ever away quarterfinal appearance. The team finished third in Group A with one win and two losses — three points — after beating Czech Republic 2-1 and falling 0-1 to both Mexico and South Africa, missing the round of 32 berths reserved for the top eight third-place finishers across all groups.

Hong became the first manager in history to serve two separate stints in charge of the national team. His first came at the 2014 Brazil World Cup, where the side went one draw and two losses before a group-stage exit. He stepped down Sunday, the day after the elimination was confirmed.