Captain Son Heung-min has apologised for South Korea’s early World Cup exit while asking for encouragement rather than criticism and saying he will “run to death” for the nation’s football fans.<\/p>\n
South Korea won their opening game in Mexico but lost their next two matches to finish third in Group A.<\/p>\n
A draw in their final group game would have been enough to qualify but they were beaten 1-0 by South Africa and finished outside the eight best third-placed teams.<\/p>\n
The former Tottenham Hotspur forward, who joined MLS side LA FC last August, was dropped from the starting line-up for that game.<\/p>\n
South Korea’s 33-year-old talisman was brought on for the second half but his 2026 World Cup drought continued as he was unable to add to his 56 international goals.<\/p>\n
Head coach Hong Myung-bo then resigned<\/a> on Sunday and President Lee Jae Myung has called for an investigation into the team’s performance.<\/p>\n “I don’t know where to begin,” Son wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday., external<\/a> “I can’t pretend [nothing happened], and I don’t want to escape reality. <\/p>\n “First of all, I would like to say sorry to all the Korean people and to the fans who love football.”<\/p>\n Son is the record appearance holder for the men’s team (147) and has played in four World Cups.<\/p>\n