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Function over form: Hong Myung-bo still has footballing critics despite record

Published: 20 Nov. 2025, 17:27

Korean national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo, center back, addresses players on the field during a friendly against Bolivia at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on Nov. 14. [KOREA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION]

Opinions are split within the football community on Hong Myung-bo, the manager of the Korean national football team, as the calendar flips to the year of the World Cup.

On paper, the numbers look solid. Korea are currently on a three-match winning streak, all without conceding a goal. Since Hong took over in September of last year, the team has recorded 12 wins, five draws and two losses — a win rate of 63 percent.

By comparison, Brazil’s head coach, Carlo Ancelotti, has a 50 percent win rate with four wins, two draws and two losses. Hong’s previous stint leading the Taeguk Warriors from 2013 to 2014 yielded a win rate of just 26.3 percent, with five wins, four draws and 10 losses.

Under Hong, Korea advanced through the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup undefeated, with six wins and four draws, the only team in the region to do so.

The team is now ranked No. 22 by FIFA and is poised to enter the upcoming World Cup group draw on Dec. 6 in Pot 2 for the first time in its history, improving its chances of avoiding top-tier opponents.

But opinions shift when evaluating the team’s actual performance. On Tuesday, Korea scraped by with a 1-0 win over a Ghana squad missing its main starters and coming off a 2-0 defeat to Japan just four days earlier.

Ghana manager Otto Addo offered a blunt assessment, saying, “Japan beat Brazil last month. Korea's not there yet.”

Korean national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo is seen during a friendly against Ghana at World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Nov. 18. [YONHAP]

When Hong’s name was announced during the player introductions, boos could be heard from the stands. The attendance at Seoul World Cup Stadium was just over 33,000 — leaving half the seats empty.

Assessments of Hong’s leadership remain divided. Most football insiders agree that he has delivered results, but rated his performance somewhere between a B- and a B+.

“He deserves credit for consistently calling up in-form players,” said sports commentator Hahn June-hea. “There’s still room for improvement in performance: While he’s implemented a back-three system, midfield combinations and wingback issues prevent it from being fully effective.”

Korean national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo, right, is seen on the field coaching Lee Kang-in during a friendly against Paraguay at Goyang Auxiliary Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Oct. 14. [KOREA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION]

“Some ask what Hong’s football identity is,” said a coach from the K League who spoke on condition of anonymity. “It’s clearly a results-oriented, safety-first approach. It’s the opposite of former manager Paulo Bento’s possession-based attacking football. Hong focuses on minimizing goals conceded to increase the odds of winning.”

The coach added that Korea’s current strategy — heavily reliant on the individual talent of star players — is a legitimate tactical approach.

“Hong has deployed Son Heung-min of LAFC and Lee Kang-in of PSG effectively, and they have been producing attacking results,” said the coach.

But the coach also cautioned that Hong must improve his ability to adapt tactics when opponents target key players like Son and Lee. He noted the team’s overreliance on individual form.

Korean national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo is seen on the field during a friendly against Bolivia at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on Nov. 14. [KOREA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION]

Former national team captain Park Ji-sung, speaking about Korea’s 5-0 loss to Brazil last month, was also critical: “We used the same tactics for the entire match. It was an aggressive 5-4-1 setup, but we ended up playing defensively. I had to wonder — with this squad, is this really the right approach?”

Criticism midway through a project is nothing new for football managers. Bento was lambasted for using nearly identical tactics against every opponent — from North Korea to Brazil — but went on to earn praise after leading Korea to the round of 16 at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Two decades earlier, Guus Hiddink, who went on to lead the Taeguk Warriors on a historic run to the semifinals in the 2002 World Cup and even became the first honorary citizen of Korea, endured even harsher public scrutiny in the lead-up to the tournament.

Korean national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo, left, and team captain Son Heung-min greet each other as Son is substituted in the second half of a friendly at World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Nov. 18. [YONHAP]

Despite public discontent, core players continue to show trust in Hong.

In June, Lee Kang-in called Hong “our boss” and urged fans to ease up on criticism. In two matches in November, Hong reportedly rallied the team during halftime dressing room talks after lackluster first halves, ultimately leading to victories.

Even amid boos, Hong has remained stone-faced.

In a September interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, Hong said, “This is my seventh and final World Cup. I’m staking my life on it," adding, “We’re preparing for uncharted territory."

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK LIN [[email protected]]