2026 월드컵, 밤샘 응원은 끝났다: 브런치와 함께 즐기는 축구의 새로운 시대 > K-wave Trends

The group stage schedule that the Korean national team will face in this 2026 World Cup is placed in a very interesting time zone. Our national team, led by Coach Hong Myung-bo, will face off against Mexico and South Africa in turn, starting with the first match against the Czech Republic. All matches will kick off between 10 and 11 a.m. The painful times of having to stay up early and sit in front of the TV like in the past Russia or Qatar competitions are now a thing of the past. Now you can enjoy live broadcasts of the national team's games on your way to work, school, or during your leisurely morning hours. This is expected to be an opportunity for soccer to go beyond sports and naturally blend into the rhythm of everyday life, providing fans with a more comfortable viewing environment than ever before.

However, simply because the times are easier does not guarantee victory. One of the key variables of this competition is ‘high altitude adaptation’. Considering that Guadalajara, Mexico, where the tournament is being held, is over 1,500 meters above sea level, the national team is making thorough preparations, including playing the final warm-up match against El Salvador in Salt Lake City, USA. Overcoming environmental characteristics in which players' cardiopulmonary endurance and changes in the ball's trajectory are bound to be significantly different from those on flat ground will determine the success or failure of this World Cup performance. Coach Hong Myung-bo is trying to perfect tactics optimized for this high-altitude environment through player roster announcements and field training, which suggests that only teams that dominate the environment as well as their skills can survive.

The change in competition format is also an important strategic factor that our national team should pay attention to. As the number of participating countries in the 2026 World Cup has expanded significantly to 48, the method of advancing to the tournament after the group stage has become more complex and competitive. If you make it to first place in your group, you will likely face a relatively easy opponent in the round of 32, but if you fall to second or third place in your group, you will face a tough matchup where you will have to face the strong players of Group B or the favorites from other groups early on. Hong Myung-bo is in a situation where it is essential not only to manage the points in each game, but also to manage soccer in a calculated manner that takes into account the final rankings. If past World Cups aimed simply to advance to the group stage, now it is necessary to calculate elaborate ‘number of cases’ for each game in order to look higher than the round of 32.

Korea's records in previous World Cups are valuable assets for us as we prepare for this tournament. The history of the struggles we experienced in being placed in a group with Mexico, Germany, and Sweden at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the dramatic rebound we showed at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar are deeply imprinted in our national team's DNA. In particular, Mexico is a familiar opponent from the 2018 tournament, and a team that will enjoy a strong home advantage as the host country in this tournament. Using past data and tactical failures as a guide, Hong Myung-boho must show a more mature and skilled performance. What is more important than the opponent's FIFA ranking ultimately depends on how well you can control the variables such as conditions and altitude on the day of the match.