South Korean media slams men's national football team: Shameful! Worst performance in World Cup history, no desire to win, unworthy of top 32

In the final match of Group A at the World Cup, which concluded on June 25 Beijing time, the South Korean men's team, needing only a draw to ensure progression, surprisingly lost 0-1 to South Africa. After an initial victory, they endured two straight losses and missed out on the top two spots in the group. Their chance of advancing to the knockout round now hinges on the outcomes of later group matches.

After the game, several South Korean media outlets quickly released reports harshly condemning the national team's display. The media outlet spotvnews expressed dissatisfaction with the team's performance under the headline: "Shocking! This ranks as the worst showing in World Cup history, yet coach Hong Myung-bo gave a high rating of 'good enough.'"

This Korean media outlet stated bluntly: "Coach Hong Myung-bo's self-assessment that the team played well enough is absurd. This match was arguably the worst performance in the team's World Cup history!"

Another outlet, mydaily, directly remarked: "Scoring only two goals in three group matches, South Korea last experienced such a low point at the 1998 France World Cup. The team has suffered the humiliation of the lowest goal tally in a group stage during the 21st century, and the attacking power has regressed after 12 years under Hong Myung-bo's leadership."

The well-known outlet OSEN wrote harshly: "Although our 'brother nation' Mexico extended a helping hand, the South Korean team is simply not qualified to be among the top 32. Hong Myung-bo's squad couldn't even beat South Africa, proving they have no right to enter the knockout stage. All South Korean fans are extremely disappointed with coach Hong Myung-bo."

Not only the media, but also many former South Korean football stars criticized the team after the match. Park Ji-sung questioned his younger colleagues: "Why did the players all retreat to the back? Even when urgently needing to score, four players remained in the backline. We need to reflect on whether the team truly wanted to win. We saw no distinct style of play across all three matches."