”We know we are responsible... We will not repeat the same mistakes” - Korea Football Association

The Korea Football Association bowed its head after failing to advance to the Paris Olympic Games. On the 26th, the association announced on its website, "Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 (U-23)
"We would like to express our deepest apologies to football fans, football lovers and all citizens of our country for preventing our advancement to the Paris Olympics due to our defeat in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup," the statement said.
Earlier, the South Korean U-23 national team, led by coach Hwang Sun-hong, competed in the 2024 Doha FIFA Women's Soccer Championship at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
In the quarterfinals of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, Japan drew 2-2 with Indonesia, led by coach Shin Tae Yeon. The match went into extra time and a penalty shootout, with the score at 10-11.
The Korean national team lost. The failure to advance to the quarterfinals prevented them from participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The last time the Korean national soccer team failed to participate in the Olympic Games was in 1984 at the Los Angeles Lakers Stadium.
This is the first time in 40 years since the Seoul Olympics. The world's first record of 10 consecutive Olympic appearances was only 9 times. The association said, "We are working with our coaches and selection team to aim for our 10th consecutive Olympic appearance.
"We did our best but unfortunately we were unable to achieve our goal," he said. "The Korea Football Association, which develops and supports the national soccer team, bears overall responsibility.
"I am very aware of this and would like to once again bow my head and apologize," he said. "We will continue to thoroughly review the training of players and coaches and the management system of the national team and seek ways to improve the situation.
"We will make sure that mistakes like today are not repeated," the association added. "We have successfully completed the selection of the national team coach, which is our immediate task, and will continue to work toward the 2026 North/Central America World Cup," it said.
"We will do our best to play well in the Asian Cup Qualifiers and make the people happy," he said.