Coach Hong Myung-bo, who avoided death due to the Mexico World Cup, is key to adapting to the 1,600m high ground

Coach Hong Myung-bo, who avoided death due to the Mexico World Cup, is key to adapting to the 1,600m high ground
Yonhap News



Coach Hong Myung-bo, who avoided death due to the Mexico World Cup, is key to adapting to the 1,600m high ground
Hong Myung-bo, head coach of the South Korean national soccer team, expressed both relief and concern after the 2026 North Korea-China World Cup draw ceremony.

After the draw ceremony held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on the 6th (Korea time), Hong met with domestic reporters and said, `It's a little good for us.' South Korea was in Group A with Mexico, one of the co-hosts, South Africa of Africa, and the winner of the European Playoffs (PO) D. Among soccer fans, there is a reaction of "'Greatest honey team ever'.

However, Hong said, `It would be nice if Korea went to the round of 32, but I can't think of either team easily. It is important how much the team demonstrates its strengths, and how much it adapts to the environment to perform. I think we should prepare well for something like that."




Coach Hong Myung-bo, who avoided death due to the Mexico World Cup, is key to adapting to the 1,600m high ground
Yonhap News
As for Mexico, which has home advantage, "When we used to play at home, the advantage of the home team often comes out above our ability" and "Mexico is a very good team, both in the past and now. However, Korean players have also improved their experience compared to the past." South Korea met Mexico in the group stage of the 1998 World Cup in France and the 2018 World Cup in Russia and lost with a score of 1-3 and 1-2, respectively.

Coach Hong also did not hide his concerns about the location. South Korea will play its first group match against the European PO winner (Denmark, North Macedonia, Ireland, and Czech Republic) at Estadio Acron in Guadalajara, Mexico, on June 12 next year, and face host Mexico at the same stadium on the 19th. On the 25th, the venue will be moved to Estadio BBVA in Monterrey and face South Africa.

Coach Hong said, `The first and second games will be held at 1,600 meters above the ground. The third game is not that high, but it is very humid and matches are played in temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius. I think that will be the biggest and most important pointIt takes at least 10 days or more than two weeks to adapt to the highlands. If I call up the national team, I think I'll have to go and adapt right away."




"It became the World Cup in Mexico (not North and Central America)."

Coach Hong Myung-bo, who avoided death due to the Mexico World Cup, is key to adapting to the 1,600m high ground
AFP Yonhap News
Regarding the fact that the first group match will be held earlier on the opening day of the tournament, he also mentioned a positive aspect, saying, `It's a little disappointing that the training period after the call will be shorter than that of other teams.'

As for the opponent team "Mexico played once in September (2-2 draws), and South Africa has a very good winning rate (3 wins and 2 draws) in the last five games." "We predict that the European PO winner will be Denmark or Ireland, and we will continue to watch and analyze the PO match in March."




Coach Hong will return home after visiting the base camp candidate site and the group stage.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.