Korea Republic head coach Hong Myung-bo reacted as a drone capturing their closed-doors training session in Guadalajara ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group A clash with co-hosts Mexico on Thursday (June 18).
Having opened their campaign with a 2-1 win over Czechia in their tournament opener last week, Hong’s side will look to get one over their co-hosts to move to the cusp of the knockouts.
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However, their preparations for the clash have been hit by reports of a drone shot down while trying to capture their training session at Chivas Verde Valle in Zapopan, western Mexico, without media on Tuesday. As per The Korea Times, a a national team security official spotted the drone while the players were warming up and immediately notified authorities.
Military forces on duty at Chivas Verde Valle intercepted the drone and brought it down. However, “two men believed to be the operators picked up their drone and fled the scene before the Mexican authorities could catch them,” as per the Korea Football Association, which has sought the local police’s help to investigate the situation and also informed FIFA.
Expressing regret over the incident, Hong said on Wednesday to the assembled media at the Estadio Guadalajara in Zapopan:
“I learned of the drone incident during our training session yesterday. Fortunately, it was before we began our tactical work, and so we weren’t really affected. It is regrettable that something like that happened at such a critical juncture during our preparation for the match.”
As per The Sun, CCTV at the training ground captured images and videos of two alleged suspects, which the Mexican police have obtained.
How did Korea Republic fare at the last FIFA World Cup?
Korea Republic had a decent campaign at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar four years ago, getting out of the group stage for the first time in more than a decade, starting off with a goalless draw with Uruguay.
Their campaign looked set to be ending in the group stage for the third straight time after losing a five-goal thriller to Ghana. However, a dramatic 2-1 win over a much-changed Portugal side – with Hwang Hee-chan netting a 91st-minute winner – took them to the knockouts.
However, a 3-2 defeat to tournament favourites Brazil brought an end to the Korea Republic’s 11th appearance at the FIFA World Cup, 10th on the trot, after debuting in the 1954 edition.
Edited by Bhargav