On the 6th (Korean time), Korea was assigned to Group A as the first team drawn from Pot 2 by NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal at the group drawing ceremony held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Then, Aaron Judge, who was in charge of the Pot 3 draw, called South Africa as Korea’s second opponent.
South Africa is classified as a relatively weak team in this tournament. Their FIFA ranking is 61st, and they participated in the World Cup three times – in France in 1998, in Korea and Japan in 2002, and in South Africa in 2010 – but were eliminated in the group stage in all of them.
Because of this, fans responded enthusiastically, saying, “Judge has given Korea a sweet gift,” and “Judge is now the 12th player on the Korean national team.”
Meanwhile, in Pot 4, NFL legend Tom Brady entered the draw and selected Group D of the European playoffs (Denmark, Czech Republic, North Macedonia, and Ireland). In fact, Korea’s final opponent will be confirmed after the playoff results are announced in March next year.
Not only O’Neal, Judge, and Brady, but also NHL legend Wayne Gretzky participated in the drawing ceremony, attracting the attention of sports fans.
Korea will play the first game against the European PO winner at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico on June 12th next year, the opening day of the tournament. Afterwards, they will face the host country, Mexico, at the same venue on the 19th, and the final game will be against South Africa on the 25th at the BBVA Stadium in Monterrey.
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