Korea coach says team won’t settle for draw in final group match

GUADALUPE, Mexico — South Korea will only need a draw against South Africa in their final group stage match this week to advance to the knockouts of the FIFA World Cup, but head coach Hong Myung-bo doesn’t want his players to settle for anything less than a victory.

“The moment we start thinking a draw will be good enough, we will be in trouble,” Hong said at his prematch press conference at Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe, northeastern Mexico, on Tuesday, the eve of South Korea’s Group A showdown against South Africa. The kickoff is 7 p.m. Wednesday (local time), or 10 a.m. Thursday (South Korean time).

“The opponents will be tough to handle,” Hong continued. “We will prepare for this match with the mindset that we will win it no matter what.”

South Korea are in second place in Group A on three points, following a 2-1 win over Czechia and a 1-0 loss to Mexico. Mexico are already through to the round of 32 after clinching the top spot in the group with their win over South Korea.

South Korea will secure second place with a win or a draw against South Africa, and may even sneak into the knockouts as one of the eight best third-place teams with a loss if Czechia also fall to Mexico on Wednesday.

However, a combination of a South Korea loss and a Czechia victory will knock South Korea out of the tournament.

“Looking back on some of our past World Cups, we’ve been in situations where we had to win our final group match to advance,” Hong said. “This is not a bad spot to be in, but it’s not especially helpful, either. I think we will only dig ourselves a hole if we think it will be OK to get a draw.”

South Korea more than held their own against Mexico, only to be undone by a miscue in their own box when goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu lost the ball after crashing into his own defender Lee Gi-hyuk early in the second half. Hong admitted that the players were “a little down” on themselves after the Mexico match, but they have since regrouped.

“I’ve seen plenty of good things from our players in the first two matches,” Hong said. “I told them to play with confidence and trust each other since this is a crucial match for us.”

Hong made just one lineup change in the Mexico game compared with the opener but said Tuesday he will make changes “at two or three positions” against South Africa.

Hong also said he was looking forward to playing in front of a partisan crowd at Estadio Monterrey.

“I understand the area has a lot of Korean residents, and it will feel a little like a home match for us,” Hong said. “It’s going to be a big gift for us. I also know we’ve been getting support from local Mexican fans, and I really appreciate that.”

Hong also said the scorching conditions of Guadalupe won’t present much trouble for his side after they played their two earlier matches in much cooler settings near Guadalajara in western Mexico.

“This is not such a difficult environment for us,” he said. “Our players are accustomed to playing in humid and hot conditions in Korea.”