South Korea coach resigns after president condemns ‘incompetent people’ in World Cup exit

Hong Myung-bo resigned on Sunday as South Korea’s head coach, a day after his side’s group-stage exit from the World Cup and after condemnation from the country’s president. The 57-year-old former captain, in his second stint as coach, oversaw an early World Cup departure for the second time to go with the failure in 2014. South Korea were expected to get out of a Group A that included the co-hosts Mexico as well as South Africa and Czechia. But they lost 1-0 against South Africa and Mexico , and finished on three points, their only success a 2-1 win against Czechia . “Over the past two years I asked myself the same question whenever I had to make important decisions, select players or prepare for training session and matches: ‘Is this the right choice for Korean football?’” Hong told reporters in Mexico, according to Yonhap News Agency. “I can not say every decision has been the right one, but I can tell you that I have made every decision with Korean football in mind.” Hong’s resignation came hours after South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, lashed out at the team’s performance, pointing the finger at “incompetent people” and apologising to the nation. “When loyalty and factionalism are valued over competence, and incompetent people are appointed to leadership positions, the outcome is all but inevitable,” Lee said in a post on X. “I offer my deepest apologies to the public for the profound disappointment caused by this unacceptable outcome. …