South Korea coaching hoping team will go beyond semifinals
South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo speaks at a press conference before his team's Group A match against Mexico at the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Estadio Guadalajara in Zapopan, Mexico, June 17. Yonhap
ZAPOPAN, Mexico — During his illustrious playing career, South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo captained the country to an unlikely semifinal berth at the 2002 FIFA World Cup that South Korea co-hosted with Japan. No Asian country has gone that deep into a World Cup since.
More than two decades later, Hong now hopes his current squad will go beyond the final four this time.
Having defeated Czechia 2-1 in their first Group A match of this year's tournament, South Korea will take on co-host Mexico for the second match at Estadio Guadalajara in Zapopan, western Mexico, at 7 p.m. Thursday (local time), or 10 a.m. Friday (South Korean time). The winner will be all but assured of a spot in the knockout phase.
"We beat Czechia because our players didn't give up until the end, and all did their part really well. Their confidence is running high, and I hope it shows on the pitch tomorrow," Hong said at his prematch press conference at Estadio Guadalajara. "We reached the semifinals in 2002, and I hope the players here will break that record."
Mexico, who beat South Africa 2-0 to begin their home World Cup, will present a much different challenge than Czechia. At No. 14 in the last FIFA rankings before the tournament, Mexico are the highest-ranked team in Group A and are widely considered the favorites to win the group.
"Mexico and Czechia are different in many aspects, including their style of play. And we've discussed that as a team," Hong said. "The opponents will come out with all guns blazing, and we have to be prepared for that."
South Korea have not defeated Mexico since 2006, but that drought nearly ended in a friendly last September, when South Korea gave up a late equalizer to take a 2-2 draw. Son Heung-min and Oh Hyeong-gyu, both of them on the World Cup squad, were the goal scorers for South Korea then.
"I think that match will help us immensely," Hong said. "We gained a few things from that game."
As for playing in front of a partisan and hostile Mexican crowd, Hong said: "Our players know about the home team's advantage, and they have played before big crowds. The key is to grab the momentum of the match."
Up against a skilled Mexican attacking corps, Hong's defense in the back-three system will be anchored by Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich, who will be asked to do the heavy lifting with inexperienced teammates flanking him.
As important as Kim is to the team, Hong, a former defender himself, said coherence among defenders as a unit is also crucial.
"Their forwards can be really quick, and we may lose them with a momentary lapse," Hong said. "In those situations, defensive organization and chemistry between players will be important."
With the tournament having expanded from 32 nations to 48 nations, teams have a little more time between group stage matches to rest and train. South Korea will have had six days off between their first and second matches, for instance. The third match, against South Africa, will come after five days' rest.
"We've had enough time to have players recover and prepare for this match," Hong said. "Matches are all relative. We don't always get to execute everything we've prepared, and it's important to manage variables that emerge over the course of a match."