The group stages of the World Cup is now over. It was filled with shock; joy and agitations. Some of the countries that were expected to go through ultimately failed to get out of the group.
The reactions from those countries have been stark and shocking.
Urugauy's exit has seen the team leave in rather unusual method. This is in comparison to the usual methods of travel.
The ugliness of Uruguay's 2026 World Cup elimination apparently goes well beyond the field.
The AUF, Uruguay's football federation, has canceled the charter flight set to take players from their base camp in Mexico back to their capital city of Montevideo, according to Uruguayan broadcaster, Tenfield. Players will instead be left to take commercial flights either home or to vacations with their families.
Uruguay's World Cup campaign officially ended on Friday with a 1-0 loss to Spain, which allowed Cape Verde to advance to the knockout rounds in one of the most shocking group results in the history of the tournament. It is a mortifying result for a squad overwhelmingly favoured to advance over Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia.
Ranked no. 16 by FIFA ahead of the World Cup, Uruguay was the top-rated team among those that failed to advance to the round of 32. La Celeste had to rally for a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia in the Group H opener; then squandered a second-half lead in a 2-2 tie against World Cup newcomer, Cape Verde. In the group finale, a goalkeeping mistake saw Uruguay lose 1-0 to Spain on Friday.
"The pain is immense," Uruguay captain, Jose Maria Gimenez, who remained on the bench for all three matches, said per Tenfield. "The feeling is one of profound sadness. The reality we have to face isincredibly difficult. We apologise to the Uruguayan people. It wasn’t what we all expected, but football is like this, and we have to accept it."
Uruguay coach, Marcelo Bielsa, was in a similar mood. "Look, what I’m leaving for Uruguayan football is nothing,” he said after the loss to Spain. “Because any kind of contribution... what can a coach do for the football of a country where he worked for three years?"
"He never settles in if he doesn’t get results. And fourth place in the qualifiers meant nothing, third place in the Copa America meant nothing, and obviously this performance.... I don’t need to define it, so if you ask me how my time will be remembered, it’s with a step that left nothing behind."
Reports suggested Bielsa’s squad revolted ahead of the Spain contest and Bielsa had a testy exchange with the media following the loss.
Bielsa, went viral in the aftermath, furiously yelling at journalists in a post-game interview:
"PARA EL GERIATRICO" ("TIME FOR THE NURSING HOME").
Porque tras la PATETICA eliminación de Uruguay del Mundial, el por ahora DT Marcelo Bielsa, se mostró enojado al punto de gritarle a los periodistas que aguardaban para entrevistarlo (Following Uruguay's pathetic World Cup elimination, head coach Marcelo Bielsa—for the time being—appeared angry, going so far as to shout at the journalists waiting to interview him).
Uruguay's winless performance will mark the end of an era that saw rampant infighting under Bielsa; an accomplished but controversial coach who joined Uruguay in 2023.
That tenure included Luis Suarez, the country's all-time leading goal scorer, retiring from international play after a dispute with the coach.
The country reached the quarter-finals in 2018 but has now experienced two straight group exits after getting squeezed out by Portugal and South Korea in 2022.
Meanwhile, the South Korean coach has been criticised for benching their captain, Son Heung-min, for their crucial game against South Africa.
South Korean media have expressed frustration at manager, Hong Myung-bo and the team following their shock 0-1 loss to South Africa in the final match of Group A at the 2026 World Cup.
Son was on the bench and only came on in the second half with almost no impact while the team lacked attacking ideas with the new line-up and let South Africa come out on top with the only goal by Thapelo Maseko
Hong, who made the bold decision to bench Son for the crucial game; was the center of criticism.
"The worst selection ever," read a headline from Star News Korea. The publication criticised Hong’s for leaving the captain out of the starting line-up, as well as his tactical approach that didn't work.
"A completely unreasonable tactical display from coach Hong Myung-bo, who is perhaps the weakest link in the team," Star News Korea commented.
The outlet pointed out that by dropping Son and opting for Hwang Hee-chan and Oh Hyeon-gyu as the central attackers; the team failed to produce any relevant offensive threat in the early stages of the match.
While Hong did bring Son on at the start of the second half, critics felt the tactical set up left the captain completely isolated and surrounded by defenders.
Newsis highlighted international reactions to Hong’s tactical decision. The outlet noted that Western media were baffled by it, quoting The Athletic's questioning of whether this was the biggest mistake of the tournament.
Other domestic publications didn’t hold back. Dailian wrote: "Leaving Son on the bench was definitely a disastrous mistake."
While Hong faced the heat from the media, the players, including the captain himself, didn't escape the backlash. "Son Heung-min was a complete disappointment," Sports News Nate wrote.
Newsis elaborated on the superstar's struggles, noting that he completely failed to make an impact as a center forward. Despite showing energy and determination, his actual output in the match was zero, it said.
The criticism towards Son had been building from previous matches. Although the media and fans have shown some sympathy regarding his age, some opinions from the South Korean press suggest he may no longer be the right fit to wear the captain's armband.
In the end, there was no miracle. The South Korean national football team was eliminated at the group stage.
On the 28th (Korean time), the DR Congo secured a 3-1 comeback victory against Uzbekistan in the final Group K match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage held at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta, USA.
As a result, Colombia (2 wins; 1 draw; 7 points) finished first and Portugal (1 win; 2 draws; 5 points) finished second, both advancing to the Round of 32. DR Congo, having defeated Uzbekistan, recorded 1 win; 1 draw and 1 loss (4 points); securing third place in Group K and simultaneously claiming the Round of 32 ticket allocated to the top eight third-place teams.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan, which had qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time in its history, concluded the tournament with three consecutive losses
Commentator, Park Moon-seong, watched the match live on his YouTube channel 'Dalsu-ne Live' under the title "Elimination or Round of 32? The final group stage match of fate hanging on the 8th place cliff."
As DR Congo staged a comeback, effectively sealing South Korea's elimination, commentator Park, as if having waited for this moment, poured out everything he had been holding back.
Commentator Park said, "South Korea, despite having resources like Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, and Kim Min-jae, was eliminated at the Round of 48. This is equivalent to failing to qualify for the World Cup finals," unable to hide his anger.
He continued, "The draw was truly a 'honey group.' Do you think you can easily face Mexico, South Africa, and the Czech Republic in the World Cup? Look at Japan; they faced the Netherlands and Sweden. Where else do you see matches like this?"
Commentator Park added, "What made me even angrier was Hong Myung-bo's interview after the South Africa match. Coach Hong said, 'I don't know what went wrong.' Then he said, 'If I have to take responsibility, I will take responsibility,' but it sounded like, 'Since you say it's our fault, I'll admit it,' raising his voice."
He then stated, "I believe Hong Myung-bo should step down immediately. Don't tell me he'll say, 'We'll use this World Cup as a lesson and work hard for the Asian Cup?' It's not just about stepping down; how exactly will he take responsibility? He ruined the entire World Cup tournament and ruined the players' careers as well," unleashing a torrent of criticism.
Football analyst, Ahn Min-ho, described the three days Korea spent waiting on other group results as "false hope" for both players and fans, calling this "the most grotesque World Cup Korea has ever experienced, from Hong Myung-bo’s controversial appointment to the team’s final collapse."
Over the period, public sentiment swung from uneasy hope to outrage, with fans glued to broadcasts of other groups’ matches only to watch Korea’s fate finally being sealed. This sparked calls on social media to "blow up the KFA," "remove Hong" and "start all over" amid what many describe as the most humiliating World Cup in the country’s football history.
Public anger rose further when a behind-the-scenes clip of the national team’s tactical meeting went viral. In the video, recorded before Korea's friendly game against Ghana on 18 November 2025, Hong stands in front of a slide bearing a single word in English: “FIGHT.”
He tells the players, "Fight. You know the word, fight. Go out there and fight. Getting sent off is absolutely unacceptable. That’s what I want to see from you today."
Team captain Son Heung-min sits scratching the back of his head as his team-mates stare ahead with stiff expressions.
Fans reacted with disbelief, saying they saw only appeals to "spirit" but no concrete instructions and questioned whether the squad could trust a manager who spoke almost exclusively in slogans at a critical moment.
Hong’s team arrived at the tournament with a goal of entering the Round of 16 for a third time on foreign soil; following runs in South Africa in 2010 and Qatar in 2022.
With prolific LAFC forward Son, creative midfielder, Lee Kang-in and defenders playing in top European leagues; the 2026 roster was widely described by commentators as a "golden squad" capable of matching or surpassing previous generations.
Instead, the team produced a 2-1 comeback win over the Czechia; a 1-0 defeat to host nation Mexico and a disastrous 1-0 loss to South Africa; where a draw would have been enough to secure second place in the group.
Korea’s failure to reach the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup has unleashed a wave of fury back home. Fans and experts say the result wasn't a sudden collapse but the inevitable outcome of years of mismanagement, elitism and controversy surrounding the Korea Football Association (KFA).
The elimination follows years of scandals facing the KFA linked to opaque coaching appointments and allegations of cartel-style favouritism linked to specific universities and regions.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s audits have flagged dozens of improper practices, including irregular payments to board members and questionable use of public funds.
Criticism extended far beyond the pitch. President Lee Jae Myung targeted the controversial appointment of Hong, saying the elimination seems to have resulted from a failure in KFA's organisational management and personnel affairs.
"If the leader is selected based not on ability, the outcome is predictable," Lee wrote in a message posted to social media. "And this failure was possible because there were no effective oversight, checks or accountability for those who made the personnel decision."
Lee said the sports ministry would scrutinise the cause of the poor performance and set up counter measures, adding that taxpayers' money and government support have been used for the country's World Cup participation.
Rep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea labeled the KFA "the greatest enemy of Korean football" in a social media post, arguing that years of opaque coach appointments, cartel-like elitism and a lack of accountability have made systemic collapse inevitable.
The players are set to return to their respective clubs on separate flights and no official welcome ceremony is planned at the airport, according to the KFA. It is a highly unusual departure from tradition, reflecting the extent of public disappointment and anger.
It has since been revealed that Hong Myung-bo has resigned as manager.
For much of Saturday afternoon, the skies above Charlotte were a dirty shade of grey, the rain bucketing down, the wind blowing hard, thunder and lightning seen and heard every minute or so.
If Steve Clarke was looking out of his hotel room, that's the biblical scene he would have taken in. In a sense, the ideal backdrop for a bombshell.
Within minutes of Scotland being officially dumped out of the World Cup, the news of the head coach's departure dropped. Unlike the weather, there was no warning.
The manner of his exit was typical of the man; low-key, no fuss, no interviews as yet, no need in his mind to explain his thoughts any more than he already has.
The length and detail in his valedictory statement suggests this was in the pipeline for a day or two but there's no word on why he has taken this decision.
Why so abruptly? Why not get back home, take a break and think about it? Snap judgements and emotional reactions are not Clarke traits, so why has he done this now?
The players didn't know this was coming and neither did many of the Scottish FA board. A month ago these same people announced, with some fanfare, that Clarke was staying for four more years.
There's a constituency of football folk who didn't want him to continue and they kept things civil. There's another constituency that just don't like the man and never have.
He incensed some Rangers fans when mocking them for sectarian singing when he was manager of Kilmarnock - he said they were stuck in the dark ages - and a chunk of them have neither forgotten nor forgiven.
Now he's gone. His legacy is a really good one but there is a sense of relief that there's going to be a new voice and fresh ideas now; as long as a good appointment is made, which is very far from a given.
Seven years is an eternity. There is some pain for the Scottish FA that the manager they committed to for four more years only last month has now walked.
For the Clarke critics - the balanced and the bonkers - there is an element of being careful what you wish for because there are no outstanding and realistic, candidates out there.
The denizens of Hampden are under significant pressure to get the right manager from a limited pool. Scotland have six Nations League games between September and November.
Clarke will be just a dot on the landscape by then but he has been a significant force for Scotland for the longest time; a manager who took the team out of the wilderness but never to the promised land of knockout major championship football. That was his goal in America and he failed.
Three major championships in seven years, though. A whole host of good times - amid plenty of bad. Scotland toiled at all three of those tournaments but they got there.
People can scoff at that now but they have short memories. Those qualifications brought many millions of pounds into the coffers of the Scottish FA.
The nation had forgotten what it was like to reach that level before Clarke fetched-up. A desperate fatalism had taken root in the game.
There was no hope, only cynicism. Two games before he took over, Scotland lost 3-0 against Kazakhstan. It was pathetic. In his first game in charge, a scratchy and late win against Cyprus, a crowd of 31 277 turned up at Hampden.
In subsequent home games, 32 432 turned up for the 2-1 loss to Russia; 25 524 were there to see Belgium win 4-0; 20 699 were at Hampden to see them beat San Marino and 19 515 were in attendance when they beat Kazakhstan.
Clarke referred to this era in his farewell message. Bar a loyal band of Tartan Army members, there was total indifference. The peaks and troughs under Clarke were quite something. He was a manager with a capacity to bounce back.
Scotland experienced a stratospheric high of back-to-back penalty shoot-out victories to qualify for the Covid-delayed Euros; then failed dismally when they got there.
Clarke came again with a strong bid to reach the 2022 World Cup, winning six competitive matches in a row for the first time since 1930. They saw off Denmark along the way and earned themselves a home semi-final play-off against Ukraine - and flopped.
They flopped again, 3-0 against the Republic of Ireland, in the Nations League that followed.
These were times of danger for Clarke. The knives were out but he went again in the qualifiers for Euro 2024.
The campaign was riveting and Hampden was rocking like rarely before. They beat Spain at home and, memorably, did Norway at the death away from home.
The night they beat Georgia in the Glasgow monsoon was one of the most memorable of the entire Clarke regime. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and all of that.
To Germany for the Euros; another awful experience culminating with a 1-0 loss to Hungary. Clarke was negative and his team sank without trace. He reacted badly in the aftermath. That failure and the truculence that followed it cost him a lot of goodwill. He was in trouble again.
The manager with multiple lives stirred once more. Better yo-yo than no-no. The Nations League campaign ended with a draw against Portugal and wins over Croatia and Poland. Things were cooking again.
Lady Luck was shining on him. In qualifying for the World Cup, Scotland were dreadful against Greece at home and won; dreadful against Belarus at home and won again. Those were the performances that John McGinn called "jobby," which is Scottish slang for what disappears down a toilet.
They lost in Greece and would have been in the play-offs had it not been for Belarus getting a miraculous draw against Denmark in Copenhagen. They took advantage of that extraordinarily good break in the epic game of the ages against the Danes - one of the greatest nights in the history of the team.
That was the bliss before the brick wall of America. Now comes the search for a manager to do what Clarke did, only do it better.
The squad is pushing on, one of the oldest at this World Cup.
Clarke's three goalkeepers in America had a combined age of 103. Lyndon Dykes and Lawrence Shankland are 30; with another five players soon to join them. John McGinn, Ryan Christie and Jack Hendry are 31; Andy Robertson is 32; Grant Hanley and Kenny McLean are 34.
The new man has problems in goal and at centre-back. There is an absence of creative and dynamic central midfielders; a shortage of wingers with real pace and a serious problem in making chances for strikers who are forced to live off crumbs.
Scotland came a long way under Clarke but the road to where they want to be stretches out for many miles. Another manager gets to navigate it now. He won't be short of backseat drivers.
Kris Boyd has labelled criticism of Steve Clarke an "absolute disgrace" after he stepped down as Scotland head coach. Clarke's resignation was announced after Scotland's World Cup exit was confirmed by Ghana's defeat to Croatia on Saturday night.
The World Cup appearance was Scotland's first since 1998 but defeats to Morocco and Brazil following a 1-0 win over Haiti left them outside the top-eight places in the third-place table.
Clarke, the first men's head coach to lead Scotland to three major finals, signed a new four-year contract before the tournament but departs having faced criticism for their performances.
"There's a lot of criticism flying around," former Scotland international Boyd told Sky Sports News. "When you put yourself in managerial shoes and things don't go to plan, you're always going to be criticised.
"It's been night and day since Steve Clarke took charge of the national team. You go right back to the start. There were a few ropey performances in there, a few heavy defeats, and now all of sudden he's being judged at major tournaments."
"Yes, there's disappointment at the level of performance at tournaments they've got to, whether it's the Euros or the World Cup. But getting there has been a huge obstacle for a lot of managers and players from '98 until the Euros a few years ago."
"He wouldn't have signed a four-year deal if he felt Scotland had reached their max. I think he thought there was an opportunity. He felt there was enough youngsters coming through to give them a chance to qualify for the next World Cup."
"I think a lot of the criticism that has been flying around for the last three or four days has been an absolute disgrace for someone who has given a lot of Scotland fans the best time of their life in terms of following their country."
"I get the fact the fans have spent a lot of money. I understand that. But there would have been people before ready to spend a lot of money, who weren't able to because the team didn't reach major tournaments."
"This team has reached major tournaments under Steve Clarke and he's still being criticised."
"Ultimately, they came up against a team ranked sixth in the world in Brazil. Morocco were ranked seventh in the world."
"There are other groups where the highest-ranked teams were 17th and 19th, but we had two of the top-seven teams in our group. It was always going to be difficult."
"The win against Haiti was only our fifth victory at a World Cup. It shows you how difficult it's been for, I would say far better teams at World Cups to get victories.
"So, for me, the criticism has been way over the top because it was always going to be difficult."
Finally, a U.S.A. reporter has gone viral with her underwhelment of their Round of 32 opponent, Bosnia & Herzegovina.
An American TV reporter has been hit with backlash over her insensitive commentary about Bosnia-Herzegovina during a segment on the World Cup after telling viewers: “I could not point out where it is on a map.”
ABC7 Los Angeles’ Abigail Velez was covering the U.S.A. national team’s match where they lost 3-2 to Turkiye on Thursday; when she gave viewers an update on the home side’s next game.
"The next round, Team USA will play Bosnia next Wednesday and one thing about Bosnia, I could not point out where it is on a map," Velez said. "I don’t know the first thing about Bosnia and I don’t want to know because Team USA, we’re back, we’re better than ever.”"
The reporter then doubled down, telling America’s southeastern European opponent to get ready for a tough competition. "That’s next Wednesday. Get prepared, Bosnia, because you don’t want it, you don’t want it like that, but you’re gonna get it. That’s next Wednesday," she said.
Bosnia fans, including the official Bosnian Football account on X, were unhappy with Velez’s comments.
"My goodness, the stereotypes write themselves……" the Bosnian Football account posted.
Fans of the team and others baffled by the ignorance chimed in. "I can’t even find Bosnia on a map’ isn’t the mic drop moment you think it is," football reporter Nima Tavalley Roodsari wrote on X.
"The only thing Americans can find on a map is the closest McDonalds," Canadian journalist, Mark Slapinski, commented.
"Americans aren’t just ignorant, they are proud of their ignorance," one X user wrote.
Another X user commented: "Yes, this is embarrassing & stupid, but it's also evidence of an American phenomenon that's existed my entire life: finding stupidity endearing & funny when it's really just embarrassing."
Velez apologised in a statement on Saturday for her "poor effort to have a little fun with the World Cup competition" and noted that the segment was supposed to be light hearted.
"I took it too far and made a thoughtless comment on air that was insensitive and inappropriate. I apologize to the people of Bosnia and the Bosnian Football team," she wrote on X.
"The World Cup is supposed to be about uniting communities around the world, and my comment didn’t reflect that spirit," she continued. "Wishing all the teams the very best as they continue their World Cup journey."
The U.S. Men’s National Team and Bosnia & Herzegovina will play at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium Wednesday.
I find it fascinating how teams/countries react to an elimination. Some might be anger and frustration while others stay relatively calm and don't act out. One can't control the type of reaction that will be made.
Early eliminations usually spell the end for managers; whether it's a firing or resignation.
Teams should never underestimate others. Football is a game that can be full of surprises and shocks; as this tournament has displayed.