Published on 6/18/2026
Coach Hong Myung-bo said on Wednesday that a drone was spotted flying over South Korea’s training session before its upcoming match against one of the World Cup hosts, Mexico, describing the incident as “unfortunate.”
Victory in South Korea’s match against Mexico in Guadalajara on Thursday will guarantee qualification to the knockout rounds, and place the winner at the top of Group A, which also includes South Africa and the Czech Republic.
Read also
list of 2 itemsend of list
However, the Korean team’s preparations on Tuesday were disrupted by the incident, which raised fears of a spying operation, with reports that the Mexican army shot down the drone.
The coach said: “During our training yesterday, there was a drone in the sky, and we knew about it. But fortunately that was before we started our tactical training, so it did not affect us greatly.”
He added in a press conference: “But while we were preparing for the match, that was the most important timing, so what happened was unfortunate.”
Mexican federal authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while officials in the state of Jalisco said they had no official record of the incident.
Drone flights over stadiums and facilities hosting World Cup matches and activities have been banned in Mexico, as well as in the United States.
Hong said that he expects a difficult confrontation against Mexico, praising the opponent’s “creative” midfield, and noting that the noisy local fans may play a role.
He added: “We are fully aware that we will play an away match against the host team, and we know that this will give them an advantage.”
He continued: “But our players have experience in such matches, so tomorrow will be different, and we must control the rhythm and flow of the match.”
Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in the opening match of the tournament last week, while South Korea came from behind to beat the Czech Republic 2-1.
