South Korea captain Son Heung-min has apologized for the team’s group-stage exit at the , saying he is 鈥渋ndescribably hurt鈥� and eager to 鈥渨in the hearts鈥� of the nation once again.
In a long on Instagram on Monday night, Son 鈥� a soccer superstar in South Korea and a big name in Major League Soccer with Los Angeles FC 鈥� said he understood the disappointment of the team’s fans after its performances in the tournament that have drawn from the country鈥檚 president and led to the resignation of coach Hong Myung-bo.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 dare to convey the disappointment and hurt of the fans with a single word 鈥榮orry,鈥欌�� Son wrote, 鈥渟o even saying those words feels insufficient.
鈥淭he 鈥榗hild鈥檚 dream stage鈥� that I always talked about has collapsed,鈥� he added. 鈥淚鈥檓 indescribably stuck and hurt. To be honest, it鈥檚 still not easy to accept this reality.鈥�
South Korea won its opening match , then lost its next two Group A matches 鈥� to and .
The team failed to advance as one of the third-place group finishers.
Son, who started on the bench for the group closer against South Africa, didn’t score a goal at the World Cup and said he felt a personal responsibility that 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 repay the time, heart, and constant support and love鈥� that the fans gave.
In a signal he wouldn’t be retiring from international soccer, the 33-year-old Son said 鈥淚 will do my best in my position again to win the hearts of the Korean people and football fans.鈥�
Son also called on the team’s supporters to 鈥渟end warm support and encouragement rather than criticizing and hurting all the players.鈥�
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