South Korea’s World Cup preparations impacted by ‘unfortunate’ incident

South Korea got their World Cup campaign underway in the perfect manner as they secured all three points against Czechia as they emerged 2-1 victors over the European side.

It was Czechia that took the lead in the game through Ladislav Krejci in the 59th minute before the South Koreans roared back after goals from Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu.

Despite the entertaining contest between the two sides, the fixture became the centre of attention for the poor images regarding the attendance, leading FIFA to release a strange statement.

Now the Asian nation will be aiming to grab top spot in the table with a victory over Mexico on Friday; however, their preparations for the fixture have been interrupted as a drone seen flying over South Korea’s training base has reportedly been intercepted and brought down before this important World Cup match, as reported by the BBC.

It has now led to fears of spying on their preparations, with the Mexican military taking the action to bring it down from the sky.

Heung-Min Son #7 of Korea Republic looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A match between Korea Republic and Czechia (Getty Images)

Manager Hong Myung-bo said at a news conference: "It ⁠did not impact ​us significantly, but while we were preparing for the match, that was the most important timing, so what happened was unfortunate."

This is just the latest incident in South Korea’s World Cup, as the players have stopped speaking to their media after the comments against Son were caught on camera.

The players reportedly refrained from speaking to South Korean media outside official World Cup commitments, and scheduled interviews with players were cancelled.

This would not be the first time a team has been accused of spying at a major tournament with a drone, as in 2024, Canada's women's team were accused of using the technology to spy on a New Zealand training session before their opening match at the Paris Olympics.

Then more recently, while not using a drone to spy, Southampton were caught spying on several of their Championship opponents this season, resulting in them losing their place in the playoff final and a chance to earn promotion to the Premier League.