Son Heung-min named among 23 most disappointing players at North and Central America World Cup, alongside Ronaldo, Neymar and Kimmich

Son Heung-min (34, LAFC) has been included in Portuguese outlet A Bola's list of the most disappointing players at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.

A Bola recently published a photo feature titled "The Most Disappointing Players of the 2026 World Cup," highlighting 23 players who fell short of expectations heading into the tournament.

The outlet said poor form, inaccurate finishing and physical problems explained the underwhelming performances of players who had been expected to shine on the biggest stage. The list was not ranked.

On Son, the outlet said he "bowed out in disgrace from what is probably his last World Cup," adding that South Korea's lack of attacking punch was partly due to a drop in focus from their main man. Son was the only Asian player on the list.

Appearing in his fourth World Cup, Son played all three group-stage matches but failed to score.

Against the Czech Republic in the opening match, he had six shots — more than any other player on either side — yet could not find the net. In the third group match against South Africa, with a place in the round of 32 on the line, he came on as a second-half substitute but could not prevent a 1-0 defeat. South Korea were eliminated in third place in their group.

Cristiano Ronaldo was also included from the Portugal squad. A Bola said his record of three goals in five matches masked a disappointing overall performance, writing that "he was content to hold the ball a lot and attempted link-up play, but was often out of position to influence the game." Portugal were eliminated in the round of 16 after losing to Spain.

Neymar also made the list. The outlet said Brazil's iconic playmaker missed most of the tournament due to injury.

Germany, eliminated in the round of 32, had the most players on the list with four. On captain Joshua Kimmich, the outlet said he struggled on the right flank while Nathaniel Brown was consistent on the left.

Manuel Neuer was faulted for conceding in all four of his matches, giving up four goals in total. Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala were also cited for poor performances.

Others on the list included Bruno Fernandes (Portugal), Josko Gvardiol (Croatia), Gabriel Magalhaes and Raphinha (Brazil), Piero Incapie (Ecuador), Declan Rice (England), Scott McTominay (Scotland), Orkun Kokcu, Kenan Yildiz and Arda Guler (Turkey), Bernardo Silva (Portugal), Antoine Semenyo (Ghana), Viktor Gyokeres (Sweden) and Jeremy Doku (Belgium).