2026 North and Central America World Cup, heated wars and narratives taking place on and off the pitch > News

The South Korean national team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, showed off its potential by dominating the midfield and winning 2-1 against the Czech Republic. It was a valuable result achieved through the harmony of Hwang In-beom's sharp attack development, Kim Seung-gyu's impregnable defense, and mercenary skills deployed at the right place. With this win, South Korea is on the rise, moving up three places in the FIFA rankings from 25th to 22nd. The national team is now preparing for the second group match against the host country, Mexico, on the 19th. This is expected to be a critical turning point that will determine the advantage or disadvantage of the future round of 32 tournament match, beyond simply competing for first place in the group.

This World Cup has seen major changes, with the number of participating countries increasing to 48 and the number of games greatly expanded to 104. This decision caused a stir when UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin publicly criticized it, saying, 'It will produce a lot of uninteresting matches.' In response, the soccer associations of the 13 countries that advanced to the finals, including South Africa, Uzbekistan, and Cape Verde, strongly opposed this in a joint statement. They raised their voices, urging not to denigrate the value of hope that small countries' historic advancement to the finals gives to countless fans and players, and that the efforts of all countries deserve respect.

The history of soccer sometimes shows tragedies where internal conflict rather than skill collapses a team. The French national team's strike in 2010, highlighted in the Netflix documentary 'The Bus', is a typical example of a disaster caused by lack of leadership and lack of communication. The arbitrary actions of the coach at the time, who relied on astrology to select players and divided the team with irrational criticism, eventually led to an unprecedented event called a collective protest by the players. This is an example of damaging not only the team's performance but also the nation's pride, suggesting how important communication between coaches and players and a transparent decision-making system are in modern soccer.

Hong Myeong-Boho heads to Mexico, the land of decisive battle, with these external perspectives and internal tasks in mind. Mexico showed off its power by defeating South Africa 2-0 in the first game, and was supported by the enthusiastic support of its home fans. Experts advise that this game against Mexico needs to be managed with practical benefits rather than an unreasonable victory. This is because if the team suffers a crushing defeat by more than 2 goals, it can have a fatal negative impact on the team atmosphere. Considering that if we strategically place second in our group, we can receive enthusiastic support from Korean residents in the round of 32 to be held in LA, this match will be a high-level psychological battle that requires both resourcefulness and physical strength.