Hong Myung-bo's national team, which posted its worst result of a group-stage exit at the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America, will return home Wednesday.
The Korea Football Association said Sunday that the national team led by head coach Hong Myung-bo will return through Incheon International Airport on Wednesday morning.
Those returning include head coach Hong Myung-bo and eight players: Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan), Kim Min-jae (Munich), Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Paik Seung-ho (Birmingham City), Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Seol Young-woo (Crvena Zvezda).
They will leave Guadalajara, Mexico, on Sunday and return to Incheon International Airport via the United States.
The Football Association said, "There will be no separate return event."
This is the first time since the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan that the national team will return without an airport event following a World Cup held abroad.
A return event was even held after the 2014 Brazil tournament (one draw, two losses), which was assessed as the worst World Cup in the team's history.
At that time, fans threw "yeot" (Korean taffy, a gesture of derision) at Hong, who was leading the team, and the players.
Other players, including Son Heung-min (LAFC), aside from the eight, will travel separately.
The Football Association said, "We are preparing for the remaining players to return to Korea in groups of several by July 1."
In the tournament, which was expanded to 48 nations for the first time, the national team finished third in its group and failed to advance to the round of 32. Under a 32-team format, it would not have qualified for the finals at all.
This marks Korea's ninth group-stage exit at a World Cup, following the 1954 Switzerland, 1986 Mexico, 1990 Italy, 1994 United States, 1998 France, 2006 Germany, 2014 Brazil and 2018 Russia tournaments.
