Hwang In-beom denies retirement rumors; Kim Min-jae, Hwang Hee-chan stay silent

Hwang In-beom has denied reports that he is considering retiring from South Korea's national football team, even as fellow 1996-born teammates Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) and Hwang Hee-chan (Schalke 04) remained silent on the matter.

South Korea's men's national team, led by interim head coach Robert Moreno of Spain, defeated Uzbekistan 2-0 on Tuesday at Yongin Mir Stadium in the final A-match fixture of the September-October international window.

The result gave Moreno's side a positive send-off after a turbulent stretch that included a 3-0 win over Ecuador on Sept. 24, a 1-4 loss to Uruguay on Sept. 28, and a 0-0 draw with Venezuela on Friday.

Captain Son Heung-min, 34, of Los Angeles FC also made history that day, surpassing former manager Cha Bum-kun's all-time men's A-match scoring record to stand alone at the top.

After the match, reports emerged that Kim Min-jae, Hwang Hee-chan and Hwang In-beom were all weighing retirement from the national team.

Hwang In-beom sat on the pitch for some time after the final whistle against Uzbekistan, visibly emotional with reddened eyes. He then posed for a photo with Hwang Hee-chan and Kim Min-jae, all three still in their jerseys. The trio, all born in 1996, have shared a long run together with the national side, and that single moment was enough to spark rumors of a joint retirement.

Adding to the speculation, Oh Se-hoon was seen approaching Hwang In-beom and bowing deeply, and Lee Kang-in also walked over to exchange words with him. The scenes unfolded one after another, making it look as though Hwang In-beom were leaving the team for good.

Reporters waited in the mixed zone to catch the three players after the match, and after a short wait, Hwang In-beom came out and spoke.

Asked whether he was in good spirits, Hwang In-beom smiled and said, "Good. I'm in a good mood."

When a reporter asked him directly about the retirement rumors — noting that he had been seen crying and taking photos with the other two players — Hwang pushed back. "I wasn't crying when we took the photo. That was during the post-match interview after the previous game," he said.

He then reflected on the World Cup. "We didn't get the result we wanted at the last World Cup, and we didn't perform well. I felt a great deal of regret and sorry about that," he said.

He also addressed his earlier use of the word "interim" in reference to Moreno. "When I used the word 'interim,' it wasn't to suggest that we weren't giving our all because he was going to leave anyway. What I meant was that it was wrong for the team to be heading into the Asian Cup — a tournament Korea hasn't won in a long time — without knowing whether the manager would stay on or be replaced," he explained.

"So that's why I said what I said, but I think I handled it in an ambiguous and emotional way. I felt very sorry to my teammates, and I received a lot of criticism myself — but that was not my intention," he said. "Still, I want to apologize to the coaching staff and my teammates for saying something I could have held back, something that didn't need to be said."

Hwang added that his underlying motivation had been to help the team. "Deep down, what I wanted most was to help the team, but I wasn't able to do that," he said. "After Wednesday's match, I'm not sure why, but a lot of emotions came over me. I'm at an age where I'm becoming one of the senior players now, and I went into that game thinking it could be my last — I think that's why those scenes played out the way they did."

On whether he would be called up for the November A-match window, Hwang said that was "a decision for the manager to make." When reporters pressed him directly on retirement, he replied simply: "No. No."