Korean players react to a 1-0 loss to South Africa in the teams' Group A match at the FIFA World Cup at Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe, Mexico, June 24. Yonhap
GUADALUPE, Mexico — Korea could not have picked a worse time to submit such a lackluster performance at the FIFA World Cup.
Needing only a draw against South Africa on Wednesday in their final Group A match in northeastern Mexico, South Korea instead absorbed a 1-0 loss on a goal by Thapelo Maseko.
The result left South Korea in third place in the group with three points. They opened the tournament by rallying to beat Czechia 2-1 on June 11, but they lost to Mexico 1-0 a week later.
In the expanded, 48-team tournament, the eight best third-place teams out of 12 will progress to the knockouts. South Korea must now wait to see if they will advance after all, with Groups J, K and L set to finish up their play Saturday across the United States.
With Mexico punching their knockout ticket thanks to that victory, South Korea still had a chance to advance to the round of 32 on Wednesday, as long as they avoided losing to 60th-ranked South Africa.
However, losing is exactly what 25th-ranked South Korea did, while displaying a shocking lack of urgency.
South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo held longtime captain and talisman Son Heung-min out of the starting lineup. Son had started his 12 previous World Cup matches, dating to his debut in 2014 when Hong was also in charge during his first tour of duty. Son failed to score in each of the first two matches at this year's tournament and Hong subbed him out for Oh Hyeon-gyu in the second half on both occasions.
This time, Oh got the start ahead of Son as the striker, but Oh was barely visible in the goalless first half.
South Korea had a promising opening to the match, with center back Kim Min-jae, the stand-in skipper, putting his head on a Lee Kang-in cross just under two minutes into the match. But defender Aubrey Modiba was at the right place at the right time as he blocked the ball on the line.
Source: Korea Times News
