GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- Immediately after playing a key role in South Korea opening their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a 2-1 victory over Czechia, Hwang In-Beom promptly turned his attention to their next assignment: a massive clash with co-hosts Mexico.
Despite falling behind to Czechia on Thursday, South Korea pulled off a spirited comeback -- with Hwang scoring the equalizer and then assisting Oh Hyeon-Gyu to ensure his side got their Group A campaign off to a perfect start.
With Mexico also victorious earlier on Thursday -- beating South Africa 2-0 -- next week's meeting between the two teams is already shaping up as a tie which could go a long way in determining which team finishes top of the group and, in theory, earns an easier tie in the round of 32.
Hwang is aware that Mexico will have a huge advantage in the form of their home support.
Estadio Guadalajara will only accommodate 45,664 fans, significantly less than the 80,824 that packed out Estadio Azteca in Mexico City for El Tri's opener -- but the decrease in numbers is unlikely to have an effect on the passionate support that will be behind the home team.
Curiously, a large portion of the "neutral" Mexicans that turned out for the first game in Guadalajara ended up supporting South Korea -- although that will certainly not be the case in a week's time.
"I am really excited. We are all really excited," Hwang told ESPN after their win over Czechia.
"Overall, I'm really grateful to the Mexican people today for making the stadium like a Seoul stadium.
"Obviously, Mexico are a good team. They have quality players. But I think everybody could see [against Czechia] that we also have a good team.
"We also have top players, so I think it will be a good game from both teams."
Despite being a visiting team, South Korea have thus far enjoyed a warm reception in Mexico -- and it has not been limited to just the team.
Social media has been awash with viral clips of men in South Korean jerseys getting randomly kissed on the street. Before Thursday's match, when a group of South Korean fans were informed they could not bring the tequila they had packed into the stadium, they enlisted the help of some Mexican counterparts to finish the bottle on the spot -- and were immediately informed they were now honorary citizens.
This unlikely friendship stems all the way back to the 2018 World Cup when both teams were also in the same group. A shock 2-0 win over Germany was not enough to see South Korea advance from the group stage but sealed Mexico's progress. It led to Mexican fans mobbing the South Korean embassy in Mexico City -- waving the flags of both countries in gratitude.
This Korean-Mexican bromance has seemingly trickled down to the players, with Hwang showing plenty of respect for their upcoming opponents.
"I wish them [Mexico] the best of luck," he added. "But also, I'm hoping we'll have the best of luck.
"Then, at the end, we'll see who is going to get the three points, or one point.
"We will do everything to win those three points."
