South Korea’s dismal World Cup first-round exit has sparked fury at home and calls for a complete overhaul at the top have not been silenced by coach Hong Myung-bo’s resignation. South Korea, World Cup semi-finalists as co-hosts in 2002, limped out of the tournament after failing to squeeze into the knockout rounds as one of the top eight third-place finishers. They had the last 32 within their reach only to suffer a shock 1-0 loss to lower-ranked South Africa.

Their early exit prompted coach Hong to quit on Sunday and cast doubt over the international future of captain Son Heung-min. It also earned the team a rebuke from the country’s president Lee Jae Myung, who pointed the finger at “incompetent people” and apologised to the nation. The president’s comments reflect public anger that has reached boiling point after years of simmering discontent at South Korean football chiefs. Former captain Park Ji-sung said, “We may have expected this outcome years ago.

“We have to look back and ask ourselves why things have come to this,” the former Manchester United player said after the team’s elimination was confirmed. “Even after spending a decade learning how to prepare for the World Cup and develop Korean football, we have forgotten those lessons once again.” South Korea were expected to get out of a Group A that included co-hosts Mexico, plus South Africa and the Czech Republic. They started with a 2-1 win over the Czechs but lost 1-0 to Mexico before flopping against South Africa.

The team were expected to arrive home on Tuesday morning but local media reported that the Korea Football Association (KFA) were not planning to organise an event to welcome them back. In 2014, angry fans pelted the team with Korean candies when they returned from the World Cup in Brazil, where they went out in the group stage during Hong’s first spell as coach.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)