"Dae~han Min-guk." "Corea."
When Hong Myung-bo's squad played its first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Americas at Guadalajara Stadium in Mexico, local fans joined forces with traveling supporters to cheer for the Korean team, creating scenes that resembled a home game.
At Guadalajara Stadium on Friday (Korea time), even before kickoff, when the Red Devils who had come to support the team away from home shouted "Daehan Minguk," Mexican locals across the stadium responded by chanting "Corea," the Spanish word for Korea.
Many local fans came to the stadium that day to watch the group stage competition unfold, as host nation Mexico belongs to the same Group A. The atmosphere on site was even more heated, coming right after Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0 in an earlier match.
What drew attention was the enthusiasm of the Mexican fans' cheering. Although Korea faced Czech Republic, a fellow Group A rival, support for Korea rang out louder than for the Czechs throughout the stadium. When Korea went on the offensive, the roar resembled that of a home stadium, and boos poured out when the Czech team stalled or committed fouls. Oh Hyeon-gyu (25, Besiktas), who scored the winning goal that led Korea to victory that day, said, "From the first half that I watched from the bench, I heard the chants of 'Corea' so many times." He added, "It was the driving force that allowed us to run one step more, and it became the secret to our victory."
The reason Mexican fans support the Taeguk Warriors is thanks to the "2018 Miracle of Kazan." In the final group stage match of the 2018 Russia World Cup, Korea pulled off an upset by defeating Germany 2-0. Mexico, which was in the same group, advanced through the group stage and reached the round of 16 thanks to Korea's victory.
However, June 19, when Korea and Mexico play their second group stage match, is expected to unfold in a completely different way. As both teams are considered strong candidates to advance from Group A, local fans are expected to throw their one-sided support behind the home side, Mexico. After the match that day, head coach Hong Myung-bo said, "I saw Mexico play while receiving tremendous support from their home fans." He added, "It will be a very big burden for us as well."
