Illegal Drone Spotted During Closed-Door Training; Two Men Flee Scene

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With just two days left until the fateful second match against Mexico—a team we have not defeated in 20 years—our national football team held a closed-door tactical training session. However, an illegal drone was spotted during the session, causing a stir as local military and police responded to the incident.

Lee Jeong-Chan reports from Guadalajara.

[Reporter]

With all 26 players present and no injuries, the national team closed the training ground doors, completely blocking access to the media to focus on tactical drills.

Unlike the Czech Republic, which relies on strength and height, Mexico employs a defense-oriented, pragmatic style of football. To break through their organization, the team repeatedly practiced tactical drills, breaking down situations and positions in detail.

South Korean football has never won a second match in World Cup history, recording 4 draws and 7 losses, and it has been 20 years since the last victory against Mexico in an A-match.

The national team is determined to break this jinx and secure a spot in the knockout stage after just two group matches for the first time in history.

[Hong Myung-bo / National Football Team Head Coach: We won the first match, so the atmosphere is very good. I believe we are becoming a 'one team' faster than I expected.]

Focused on closed-door tactical training under "ironclad security," the national team is carefully preparing for their first-ever second-match victory.

However, while the players were doing their initial warm-ups, an "illegal drone" not authorized by FIFA was discovered in the sky above the training ground, prompting an immediate response from local military and police.

Two men, presumed to be the operators, retrieved the crashed drone and fled the scene, and the police have launched an investigation.

[Lee Jae-cheol / National Football Team Media Officer: We forced the drone to land at the scene. There was no impact on the team's training atmosphere. Most of these incidents are usually caused by ordinary people acting out of curiosity...]

Even though there was no exposure of tactical information, tension and vigilance regarding security have heightened ahead of what is effectively a "battle for first place in the group" against the host nation, Mexico.

(Reported by Hwang In-seok | Video by Chae Cheol-ho | Graphics by Kim Min-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.