National team star midfielder Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) bowed his head, admitting his team lacked skill, after being left waiting to learn whether Korea will advance to the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.
After Korea lost 0-1 to South Africa in the final Group A match of the group stage, held at Monterrey Stadium in Guadalupe, Mexico, on Thursday, Lee met with reporters and said, "I think we lacked a lot of skill." He added, "I think we'll have to reflect a lot going forward and work hard to improve."
With the defeat, Korea fell to 1 win and 2 losses (3 points), dropping to third in the group behind both Mexico (9 points, 3 wins) and South Africa (4 points, 1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss), and can no longer advance to the round of 32 on its own.
In this tournament, where the number of participating nations expanded from 32 to 48, the teams are divided into 12 groups of four for the group stage. The top two from each group, 24 nations, join the eight best third-place finishers to make up the 32 nations that continue competing for the title through the knockout rounds.
Korea must watch the results of other groups to reach the round of 32.
Lee, who played the full 90 minutes in all three of his matches this tournament, including the South Africa game, said, "I want to say I'm so sorry to the football fans who showed so much interest."
Of course, advancement to the round of 32 has not been ruled out yet. Lee said, "I have hope, and I'd like a lot of luck to come our way over the next two or three days." He added, "There may be a next game, so I think we'll have to reflect well so that games like this aren't repeated, and prepare by doing our best."
