The Korean national soccer team will play the second match of the group stage at Guadalajara Stadium in Mexico at 10 a.m. on the 19th. Currently, in Group A, Mexico, which defeated South Africa 2-0 in the first game, is in first place on goal difference, and Korea, which is close behind, is in second place. Since both teams have gained momentum by winning the first game, this game is evaluated as a de facto ‘match for first place in the group’. The national team led by coach Hong Myung-bo set a clear goal of regaining the lead in the group through this victory and taking advantage of the future bracket. Expectations are even higher as players who have returned from injuries such as Bae Jun-ho and Kim Tae-hyun have completed normal tactical training and strengthened their power.

However, tension was evident at the national team's training ground ahead of the final match. This is because during a private training held in Mexico, a security incident occurred where an unidentified drone invaded the sky above the training site. Fortunately, the Mexican military responded quickly and the drone was shot down, but the pilots recovered the aircraft and fled. The Korea Football Association immediately officially reported the incident to FIFA and requested measures to prevent recurrence. Although it was determined that there was no tactical leak, this type of information war on the grand stage of the World Cup can be said to hint at how heated and tense the match against the host country, Mexico, will be.

A large-scale cheering wave is expected to continue outside the stadium, centered around Myeongdong. Shinsegae Department Store broadcasts the match against Mexico and South Africa live through ‘Shinsegae Square’, a large media façade on the exterior wall of the main store, transforming the city center into a cheering plaza. In this place, which has established itself as the center of K-content, citizens and foreign tourists will become one as they cheer for the national team. By going beyond simple broadcasting and deploying a variety of participatory content such as providing food and beverage discount coupons and roulette events, the distribution industry is once again proving that sports events are a key driving force in increasing customer stay time and revitalizing commercial districts.

Looking back on history, the World Cup has always been accompanied by the tears and joy of players, and sometimes the shadow of conflict within the organization. As the Netflix documentary ‘The Bus’ shows, the internal divisions and strikes experienced by the French national team in the past clearly reveal the enormous pressure of the sport of soccer. At the time, the players made the extreme choice of going on strike in response to the coach's arbitrary tactics and inhumane treatment, which ultimately led to the disaster of elimination from the group stage. These examples suggest that teamwork and communication are more important values ​​than grades, and they remind us once again how important the solid solidarity shown by Hong Myung-Boho is in this World Cup.