Korean national football team players, Kim Min-jae, left, and Hwang Hee-chan arrive at Incheon International Airport early Tuesday, as the team returned after Korea's exit from the FIFA World Cup after the group stage. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
The 2026 World Cup is over for Korea and the inquest into what happened in Mexico is well underway. Starting now is the discussion about what should happen next.
As mentioned previously, there is a lot of anger and emotion at the moment and that can help promote the desire for change. But when actually thinking about what should happen, cool heads are needed. It is going to be a long journey, but the first steps have to be taken, and I am not talking just about finding a new coach.
There are short-, medium- and long-term changes that need to be done. In the short-term, there has to be a collective breath taken and a calm discussion. Talking to coaches who are on the outside watching Korea, they all remark about how much pressure is put on the coach and the players.
A question to ask all stakeholders — the fans, the media, the politicians, the players, the public and private sector — is whether people are prepared to tolerate relative failure if the necessary progress is being made?
