Sitting captain Son Heung-Min might be the defining decision of the World Cup for South Korea coach Hong Myung-Bo.

Son was not in the starting XI on Wednesday night and South Africa pulled off a 1-0 win in what Hong admitted post-match was failed strategy that leaves South Korea with a cliffhanger few days. Advancing to the round of 32 is now dependent upon results from third-place finishers in other pools. South Africa leapfrogged to second in Group A, ahead of South Korea.

“We thought that Son would be better placed when the opponents were losing their energy, not when they had a lot of energy,” Hong said of not starting Son, 33, on Wednesday. “And when there were more spaces to exploit between the opponents’ defensive line, that’s when we wanted Son to be at his strongest — when the opponents were a bit weaker.”

After entering as a sub, Son had one shot in the match.

Hong admitted he might not make the same decision if presented another opportunity, but a knockout stage match is now in serious doubt.

“In terms of the process and preparing for this game, and how we would play on the field, that is something I put much thought into,” he said. “Of course, if we knew what the result was going to be, I probably would have made different choices. But I had a strategy in mind. Whenever such a bad result happens, everyone has their own opinion. The result is really the responsibility of the head coach. Ultimately, it comes down to my hands.

The in-or-out drama likely is to extend to Saturday for South Korea. South Africa will head to Los Angeles to play Canada in the round of 32.

–Field Level Media