Ahn Jung-hwan, a key figure in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup semifinal run, also unleashed strong criticism over Hong Myung-bo's team's loss to South Africa. Ahn said it was hard to pin the poor performance on individual players alone and raised the question of responsibility at the levels of the head coach and the Korea Football Association.
In a column contributed to the JoongAng Ilbo on the 25th, Ahn wrote, "Have we ever had a World Cup match this frustrating? It was the worst of the three games in this tournament. It was devastating. We did nothing."
He was especially critical of the national team's game management, saying, "There was no tactics. I couldn't feel any tactics at all." He noted there was no clear adjustment or decisive move even as the team was being pushed by South Africa.
Ahn also said the blame for the defeat inevitably falls on the coach. "In the end, it's the coach who builds the team," he said, adding, "Whatever the result, if you judge only by performance, responsibility is unavoidable."
Criticism toward the Korea Football Association followed as well. Ahn raised his voice, saying, "If we don't completely clean everything out, this will keep happening. If things go wrong, we need to change and overhaul the football association too."
He also pointed out that Korean soccer is falling behind in long-term preparation and system-building. Ahn said, "When I look at Japan, I feel envy and jealousy. They prepared thoroughly in advance, so the results were bound to show."
He did not hold back tough words for younger players either. Ahn said, "There was no desperation. It wasn't even 'played well in a loss,'" adding, "It felt like something was wrong or festering and bursting." He argued that more than the result, the attitude and energy to turn the game around were missing.
However, he was cautious regarding the controversy over Son Heung-min being left out of the starting lineup. Ahn added, "There's debate about the timing of Son Heung-min's substitution, but does sparing Son mean the player who started instead is a bad player? That kind of criticism can make that player feel a sense of self-contempt."
Ahn emphasized that his criticism was not an attack on a particular person but a call for addressing issues in Korean soccer. "I wonder if we were the ones who shook the national team," he said. "I'm on no one's side—I'm on the side of Korean soccer to the bone."
Meanwhile, the Korea men's national soccer team led by head coach Hong Myung-bo lost 1-0 to South Africa in the final Group A match of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup group stage at Estadio de Monterrey in Mexico on the 25th.
Korea could have greatly boosted its chances of reaching the round of 32 with even a draw against South Africa, considered the weakest in the group, but failed to recover from conceding first. With the loss, Korea fell to third in the group and missed the chance to clinch a round of 32 spot on its own.
Starting with this tournament, the World Cup finals expanded to 48 teams, and the knockout stage begins with the round of 32. The top two teams from each group advance first, and eight of the best third-place teams join them. Depending on the remaining group-stage results, Korea must now wait to see if it can reach the round of 32 as a wildcard.