[ESPN]South Korea's shock Son Heung-Min gamble backfires spectacularly

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South Korea's shock Son Heung-Min gamble backfires spectacularly - ESPN

South Korea's shock Son Heung-Min gamble backfires spectacularly

South Korea's shock Son Heung-Min gamble backfires spectacularly

• Jun 25, 2026, 12:12 AM ET

MONTERREY, Mexico -- South Korea only needed to avoid defeat against South Africa on Wednesday to guarantee their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stages. Even a draw would have been enough to secure a second-place finish and a round of 32 clash with Canada in Los Angeles on June 28.

It hardly seemed the kind of dire situation which called for bold strategies and, yet, not only did South Korea coach Hong Myung-Bo do just that -- he could not have taken a bigger gamble in dropping captain Son Heung-Min from his starting XI.

Ninety minutes or so later, the repercussions of his huge call are clear for all to see. And they are not positive for South Korea. A shock 1-0 loss to Bafana Bafana has seen them slip to third and now have to await the conclusion of the group stage on Saturday to find out if they are even going to reach the knockout rounds as one of the best-performing third-placed teams.

---- 이하 생략 --- 원본은 링크 참조 바랍니다~~

South Korea's shock Son Heung-Min gamble backfires spectacularly - ESPN

"홍명보, 국민 영웅 손흥민 뺐으면 이겼어야지" ESPN, 감독 선택 강도 높은 비판…"도박은 처참한 역효과를 낳았다"

"홍명보, 국민 영웅 손흥민 뺐으면 이겼어야지" ESPN, 감독 선택 강도 높은 비판…"도박은 처참한

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BBC "손흥민 없는 한국 대표팀 이상해"→후반 시작하자마자 투입했지만... 슈팅 고작 1회, 2018년 이