South Africa Goes to Extremes, Even Shutting Out Its Own Media

[Anchor]

South Africa, which must defeat us to keep its hopes of reaching the Round of 32 alive, is employing a thorough smokescreen to minimize the exposure of any information. They have gone to such desperate lengths as abruptly moving their travel schedule to Monterrey up by a day and even restricting coverage by their own national broadcasters.

Jeon Young-min reports.

[Reporter]

After drawing their second match against the Czech Republic on the 19th and falling to the bottom of the group, South Africa has been extremely reluctant to disclose even basic information.

They were initially scheduled to travel to the match site, Monterrey, on the 23rd (local time), one day before the game. However, perhaps to secure time to adapt to the sweltering heat and humidity of Monterrey—which is hotter and more humid than their base camp in Pachuca—they abruptly changed their schedule to move on the 22nd, only notifying the media once the travel day had arrived.

Regarding training, South Africa even held a session that they had officially announced as "canceled" on the tournament's official app.

As this situation continues, media from various countries, including the host nation Mexico, have had to rely on city committees rather than the South African Football Association to track the team's hotel and travel schedule.

A reporter from a South African broadcasting station who attempted to film the team's arrival wrote on social media, "The media was chased out into the rain. As accredited national media, we pleaded to be allowed closer to capture the team's arrival at the hotel, but it was denied."

South Africa's head coach, Hugo Broos, who is desperate for a win, is also keeping his cards close to his chest regarding questions about our national team.

[Hugo Broos/Head Coach of South Africa National Football Team: If I say here that 'Player A, Player B, and Player C of South Korea are threatening,' the South Korean head coach will see this interview and adjust his strategy. I am very sorry that I cannot answer your question.]

Despite these "smokescreen" tactics by South Africa to minimize the exposure of their strength, major overseas betting sites are predicting an overwhelming victory for South Korea.

(Video reporting: Hwang In-seok | Video editing: Kim Yoon-sung | Design: Park Tae-young, Kim Han-gil)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.