Mother's old post resurfaces as Yens Castrop's World Cup snub fuels backlash against Hong Myung-bo

South Korea's failure to advance past the group stage at the 2026 North America World Cup has unleashed fierce criticism of coach Hong Myung-bo, with renewed scrutiny falling on his handling of Yens Castrop (22, Borussia Mönchengladbach). Amid the backlash, a social media post by Castrop's mother from nearly two years ago has resurfaced and gone viral.

Online communities circulated a screenshot Sunday of a comment left by Castrop's mother, identified by her surname An, on social media in July 2024, when Hong was appointed head coach of the national team.

In the comment, An wrote on a Korea Football Association post announcing Hong's appointment: "This is too much. As a Korean citizen, I'm ashamed." The remark was widely interpreted as a criticism of the lack of transparency in the coaching selection process.

After netizens warned that the comment could "negatively affect Yens's national team career," An deleted it, according to reports.

Born to a German father and a Korean mother, Castrop changed his nationality to South Korean in September last year, saying he wanted "to represent my mother's country," and joined Hong's squad.

A starter in Germany's Bundesliga, Castrop was regarded as a player accustomed to the high intensity and pressing demands of top European football, with explosive overlapping runs and seemingly inexhaustible stamina. His versatility across fullback and midfield roles had raised expectations that Hong would deploy him as a wing-back to dominate the flanks.

Yet over nine months with the national team, Castrop was rarely given a chance to show what he could do. In the 12 matches played before the World Cup, he logged just 256 minutes of playing time.

Commentator Seo Hyeong-uk said Castrop "was a starter in the German Bundesliga's top flight, yet he was not given sufficient opportunities to demonstrate his ability in actual matches or to build chemistry with his teammates."

The pattern continued at the World Cup group stage. Castrop did not feature in either the first match against the Czech Republic or the second against Mexico. He was brought on at the start of the second half in the third match against South Africa, but analysts said too little time remained for him to change the course of the game.

Some commentators noted that even in his limited time against South Africa, Castrop showed attacking intent and forward drive, and questioned whether he should have been given at least one start.

After the tournament, Castrop described the outcome as "a disappointing result," adding that while it "wasn't the World Cup I had dreamed of, it was a journey I will never forget." He said: "When I think about the effort, sacrifice and belief we poured into this journey, I truly believe we deserved more. But sometimes that's just football."