Will a victory calm down the angry public opinion? Public sentiment toward Hong Myung-bo is still icy.
Hong Myung-bo defeated Oman 3-1 in the second Group B match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup at the Sultan Qaboos Stadium in Muscat, Oman on the 10th (Korea time). It is the victory in two games since Hong Myung-bo was launched.
It was an uncomfortable match. Korea, ranked 23rd by FIFA, tied the weak Palestine (ranked 96th) scoreless at its home turf on Saturday. A cool victory was a must at the match against Oman, which ended up resulting in poor result. It was a difficult match to reverse the public opinion.
Even after the victory, strong criticism continues against Hong Myung-bo. After the match against Oman, Hong said, “It went well as we prepared overall,” but there are many criticisms that he does not know what kind of tactics he came up with again this time. Majority of the soccer players say that it was just dependent on Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain).
It is not enough to catch both the performance and the result, but the two consecutive games in September, which was Hong Myung-bo’s debut stage, added fuel to the angry public sentiment. Of course, considering the current atmosphere, it is unclear whether public opinion toward Hong will turn even if he cruises in the third qualifying round.
Hong Myung-bo, who is still under criticism for having become the head coach of the national team after going through an unfair process, was shouted out to “get out” even before his debut match against the Palestinians. Soccer fans urged Hong to resign even before he stepped on the pitch, because he pointed out the Korea Football Association’s lax handling of the matter rather than worrying about his capabilities. If this incident is ignored, a similar situation could happen in the future.
If the KFA had appointed Hong Myung-bo through transparent procedures and gave convincing reasons, public sentiment would not have been as cold as this. It seems that the stage to persuade the fans who turned their back on them to turn around has already passed. Criticism seems to not fade away even if the team secures performance and results, and even if it wins the qualification for the World Cup, which has become relatively easy. 메이저사이트
In fact, soccer fans were busy shouting out the resignation of Coach Hong Myung-bo and President of the Korea Football Association Chung Mong-kyu, leaving no discussion on performance behind. This situation is clearly different from the past, in which public opinion subsides if they just move forward by covering their ears. At least, the priority seems to be to clear up suspicions about the appointment.
The National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee decided to call Chung Mong-kyu, president of the Korea Football Association, and Hong Myung-bo, the head coach of the national soccer team, to ask questions about the pending issue on the 24th. Jin Jong-oh, a member of the People’s Power, said, “We are collecting and reviewing related data after receiving internal information from (the Korea Football Association) related to the appointment of coach Hong.” Public eyes and ears are focused on this. Rather than talking around, it seems that only honest and clear answers can comfort angry public opinion.