'Determined to win': Hong Myung-bo pushes aside math, history to focus on round of 32

MONTERREY, Mexico — A draw against South Africa would be enough to send Korea into the round of 32 at the World Cup.

"This will be the most important match of this World Cup," manager Hong Myung-bo said at a press conference at Monterrey Stadium in Mexico on Tuesday before his team's final Group A game against the African side.

Korea sit second in Group A with three points, from a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic and a 1-0 loss to Mexico. A draw on Wednesday would carry them through to the round of 32.

Hong is aware of the math, just not too keen about it.

"In past World Cups, whenever we ran the scenarios going into the third match, we never had a case where a draw was enough to get through the group stage; the situation now isn't bad," he said. "But that doesn't mean I think we have the advantage. If anything, a match where a draw will do feels like a burden. Above all, South Africa are a tricky opponent, so we'll go in determined to win."

The Taeguk Warriors' best World Cup run came in 2002, when the co-hosts reached the semifinals and finished fourth. At the previous tournament, in 2022, the team reached the round of 16.

"We played a decent game overall against Mexico but still lost 1-0," Hong said. "Not winning left the mood lower than right after the win over the Czech Republic. But we have recovered fully now, physically and mentally, and we prepared well, just as we always do."

His message to the players has been simple.

"I haven't given them any special instructions for the third match. The good form they showed in the first two games was enough," Hong said. "I told them, 'Let's approach this last, important match with confidence and trust in one another.'"

Korea named largely the same starting lineup for its first two matches, but Hong signaled a change.

"We could change two or three positions for this match," he said.

Monterrey is familiar ground for Korea. Several Korean companies, including Hyundai Mobis, Kia, LG Electronics and Posco, operate in the northern Mexican industrial city, and about 5,000 Korean residents live there. The Korea Football Association expects roughly 2,000 supporters at the match, drawn from the national team's supporter group and the local Korean community.

The weather is less welcoming, however. Monterrey runs hotter than Guadalajara, where the squad is based, with highs around 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) and humidity that has given the city a reputation for sweltering conditions.

"Monterrey is hot and humid, a different environment from Guadalajara," Hong said. "But it isn't so hard for our players to adjust. We studied the weather here in advance and prepared for it ahead of time, the same way we prepared for high altitude. It won't get in the way of how we play or perform."

A win would make Hong the first Korean manager to record two World Cup victories, a feat that appeared painfully distant at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when the Warriors crashed out under his watch without a single win.

Not that that history is on his mind.

"I came to Mexico leading the 2026 World Cup team, a new challenge with these players," Hong said. "The past doesn't matter. Even if we have a successful tournament, I won't feel I've 'restored my honor.'"

He went on, "I'll do my best in the role I've been given. I don't know what the result will be, but I just have to take responsibility for it. I'm not thinking about anything personal."

Defender Kim Min-jae, who joined Hong at the news conference, said the team had done its homework.

"South Africa has quick players with real individual quality, and we've prepared well for that. We told each other to play the way we did in the first two games," Kim said. "The players are full of confidence. Rather than me dragging the team along, I see it as pushing from behind. Playing as one team on the pitch is what matters."

BY PIH JU-YOUNG [[email protected]]