Lee Chun-soo predicts S. Korea will advance from group stage with 2 wins, 1 loss — but doubts round-of-16 chances

Former South Korean national team footballer Lee Chun-soo has shared his predictions for how coach Hong Myung-bo's squad will fare at the 2026 North America World Cup.

South Korea, under Hong's management, has been drawn into Group A alongside host nation Mexico, South Africa and the Czech Republic.

Speaking Saturday on his personal YouTube channel "Richunsu," Lee predicted the team would go 2-1 in the group stage. "The two wins will come against the Czech Republic and South Africa," he said. "The one loss will naturally be to Mexico, the host."

He added that even advancing to the round of 32 as group runners-up would not guarantee much. "Honestly, I think the round of 16 looks pretty difficult right now," Lee said. "I'm not sure how the bracket will shake out."

K League commentator Lee Hwang-jae also forecast a 2-1 record. "I think we'll beat the Czech Republic in the first match," he said. "If we lose that one, the fallout going into the Mexico game would be significant."

On the Czech Republic fixture, Lee Chun-soo was emphatic. "The Czechs are playing their first World Cup in 20 years and may be caught up in the emotion of it — on top of that, they have a long travel distance and their base camp isn't suited for altitude acclimatization," he said. "I think we absolutely, 100 percent take that game."

Commentator Kang Seong-ju offered a more cautious scenario. "The picture that keeps coming to mind is a draw against the Czech Republic, a loss to Mexico, and then scoring around three goals against South Africa to advance," he said. "But a record of one win, one draw and one loss would likely mean finishing third in the group, which makes the round of 16 very unlikely."

All three analysts agreed on one point: finishing third in the group would be dire. "If we go through as third place, we'd face teams like Brazil — that would be incredibly tough," they said.

Lee Chun-soo singled out Hwang Hee-chan as his key player for the tournament.

"South Korea's game only opens up when Hwang Hee-chan charges through like a bull," Lee said. "If the real Hwang Hee-chan comes back, I think the results could be decent. Football needs someone to shake things up — if Hwang does that, others can follow. If he returns healthy and in his original form, that aggressive, driving Hwang Hee-chan, South Korea's results will improve."

Meanwhile, the national team has arrived in Guadalajara, Mexico, the site of their group-stage matches. The squad trained at their pre-tournament camp in Salt Lake City, where they won back-to-back friendlies against Trinidad and Tobago (5-0) and El Salvador (1-0) before moving on to Mexico. Unlike the Czech Republic and South Africa, South Korea trained at Salt Lake City's elevation of roughly 1,460 meters above sea level, completing their altitude acclimatization ahead of the tournament.

지금이 매수기회? 부자들 ‘이것’ 1000억 넘게 쓸어담았다…2배 레버리지까지 줍줍

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