Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo speaks during a press conference following Korea's Goroup A game against South Africa at Chivas Verde Valle in Zapopan, Mexico, Thursday. Yonhap
Some 24 hours after Korea finished third in their group with a demoralizing loss at the FIFA World Cup, head coach Hong Myung-bo still couldn't pinpoint reasons behind his team's plight Thursday.
Hong instead doubled down on his mea culpa approach, saying it was his fault as head coach that his players failed to execute their game plans.
Korea returned to their base camp in Zapopan, western Mexico, on Thursday, a day after losing to South Africa 1-0 in another Mexican city of Guadalupe. Korea would have finished second in Group A and punched their ticket to the round of 32 with a win or a draw, but the 25th-ranked side got blanked by the 60th-ranked squad without putting up much of a fight.
Korea, who previously beat Czechia 2-1 and lost to Mexico 1-0 in Zapopan, must now wait and see if they will end up as among the eight best third-place teams that will progress to the knockout stage. With Group E having completed their play Thursday and teams in Groups D and F to follow later, Korea ranked fifth with three points and a goal difference of -1.
