Hong Myung-bo, who had the worst result in the 2026 North and Central America World Cup by failing to advance to the round of 32, will return to Korea on the 30th without a homecoming event. This is the first time since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup that the national soccer team has returned to the country without any special events after playing an away game at the World Cup. The Korea Football Association announced on the 28th, “The national soccer team led by Coach Hong Myung-bo will return to Korea through Incheon International Airport on the morning of the 30th.” After holding a press conference in Guadalajara, Mexico on the 29th of this month, Coach Hong will board a plane to Korea with eight players including Hyun-woo Cho (Ulsan), Min-jae Kim (Munich), In-beom Hwang (Feyenoord), Hee-chan Hwang (Wolverhampton), Seung-ho Baek (Birmingham), Moon-hwan Kim (Daejeon), Kang-in Lee (Paris Saint-Germain), and Young-woo Seol (Zvezda). There is no homecoming event for Coach Hong and other players when they arrive in Korea. This is the first time since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup that the national team has returned home without an airport event in an away World Cup. Coach Hong led the World Cup national team to the 2014 World Cup, where they failed to advance to the round of 16 with 1 draw and 2 losses.