South Korea’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign is over, and captain Son Heung-min wants fans to know he feels it just as much as they do.
On June 29, 2026, Son posted a public apology on Instagram following the team’s group stage elimination, a result that sent shockwaves through a football-obsessed nation that had expected far more from one of Asia’s most celebrated squads.
What went wrong
The decisive blow came via a loss to South Africa, a result that sealed South Korea’s fate before the knockout rounds.
Perhaps the most telling detail: this was the first World Cup since 2014 where Son started a match on the bench, a shift in his role that did not go unnoticed and drew significant scrutiny from fans and pundits alike.
