South Korea’s World Cup plans affected by an unfortunate event
South Korea kicked off their World Cup journey in great style by winning 2-1 against Czechia. Although Czechia took the lead in the 59th minute thanks to Ladislav Krejci, South Korea fought back with goals from Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu to claim all three points.
The match was exciting, but it also attracted attention for low attendance, which led FIFA to make a surprising statement. Now, South Korea is focused on topping their group with a win over Mexico on Friday. However, their preparation hit a snag when a drone was spotted flying over their training base. The Mexican military reportedly intercepted and brought the drone down, raising concerns about spying ahead of this important game, according to the BBC.
Coach Hong Myung-bo said in a news conference, “It didn’t affect us much, but it happened during a crucial time while we were getting ready, so it was unfortunate.”
This isn’t the only issue South Korea has faced during the World Cup. The players have stopped talking to their media after some comments about Son were caught on camera. They are now only speaking to media during official World Cup events, and some planned interviews have been canceled.
South Korea isn’t the first team to deal with spying concerns. In 2024, Canada’s women’s team was accused of using a drone to spy on New Zealand before the Paris Olympics. More recently, Southampton was caught spying on other teams during the Championship season, which led to them losing the chance to play in the playoff final and move up to the Premier League.