Son apologises to fans after South Korea’s early World Cup exit

South Korea’s captain Son Heung-min issued an apology on Tuesday to fans after the squad’s stunning World Cup first-round elimination, a reality he said was “not easy to accept”.

South Korea crashed out after failing to qualify for the knockout stage as one of the tournament’s eight best third-placed teams.

The last 32 had appeared within reach until a shock 1-0 defeat to lower-ranked South Africa in their final group match ended their campaign.

Former Tottenham captain Son was benched for the first half against South Africa, when a draw would have likely been enough to see South Korea advance.

Son played throughout the second half but was unable to overturn the 1-0 deficit, an outcome that prompted angry criticism of head coach Hong Myung-bo, who resigned on Sunday in the aftermath.

“I honestly don’t know where to begin. I can’t pretend nothing happened, and I don’t want to run away from reality,” Son wrote on Instagram.

“First and foremost, I want to offer my sincerest apologies to the people of South Korea and to all the fans who have supported and loved our national football team,” he added.

Son said South Korea’s early exit was hard to fathom, noting: “To be honest, even now, it is not easy to accept this reality.”

It was widely expected that this year’s World Cup — Son’s fourth appearance — was likely to be his last and questions linger about whether he will continue representing the national team after the tournament.

Son did not address the retirement issue in his post but said he would do everything he could to win back the hearts of the fans.

“Rather than try to express everything in words now, I will do everything I can, from where I stand, to win back the hearts of the South Korean people and football fans,” he said.

“I will fight with everything I have to bring joy to you again,” added Son, who turns 34 next month.