Lee Cheon-su "If We Lose Two Consecutive World Cup Qualifiers, Hong Myung-bo Will Definitely Be Replaced"

"No Elders in the Football World, It's Embarrassing"

Former football national team player Lee Cheon-soo publicly criticized Hong Myung-bo, head coach of the South Korean national football team, and the Korea Football Association once again.

Former national soccer player Lee Cheon-soo. [Image source=YouTube channel 'Richunsoo' capture]

On the 8th, Lee Cheon-soo uploaded a video titled "Will the coach be replaced if we lose both upcoming matches?" on his YouTube channel. Lee predicted that if the South Korean team loses both the 3rd and 4th matches of the 2026 CONCACAF World Cup Asian final qualifiers, Coach Hong Myung-bo would be dismissed. Lee said, "(If we lose two consecutive matches) the coach will definitely be replaced. Losing two matches in the current situation is unjustifiable," and added, "Losing two matches is a matter of competence."

Lee Cheon-soo said, "The atmosphere in the national team is tough. Son Heung-min is injured, so I am worried," and continued, "Regardless of individual players' conditions, the overall situation of the national team is not good. The players will try their best, but another incident like the Kim Min-jae case (where Korean fans jeered and clashed with the player) could happen. From the players' perspective, it would be frustrating." Regarding the noise surrounding the Football Association, he joked, "There was no such thing in the past," and added, "In the past, I was the one causing noise, but the association never caused noise."

Regarding the attendance of Korea Football Association officials at the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee’s current issues inquiry last month, he criticized, "I felt that there are no elders in our football community. I was ashamed that I played football," and said, "(The players) belong to the best golden generation of Korean football, but is it really these people in the Football Association now? Watching them made me so embarrassed I broke out in hives. They judged that there was no problem."

Lee Cheon-soo warned, "The fact that the South Korean national team failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics means there is a possibility of not qualifying for the World Cup," and added, "I never thought we would fail to qualify for the World Cup even once, but it could happen. It could be dangerous." Earlier, the South Korean men’s under-23 football team (FIFA ranking 23rd) suffered a shocking defeat to Indonesia (FIFA ranking 134th) in April, failing to qualify for the Olympic finals for the first time in 40 years.

The Korea Football Association parted ways with former coach J?rgen Klinsmann and searched for a new coach for five months before appointing Hong Myung-bo as the national team head coach in July. During this process, there were several candidates including foreign coaches, but criticisms arose regarding issues in the coach appointment procedure, leading to ongoing controversy.

Meanwhile, South Korea will play an away match against Jordan on the 10th at 11 p.m. (Korean time) at the Amman International Stadium in Jordan for the 3rd match of Group B in the 2026 FIFA CONCACAF World Cup Asian qualifiers. After the away match in Jordan, South Korea will return home and continue with the 4th match at Yongin Mireu Stadium against Iraq on the 15th.