FIFA cheers on South Korea: 'Get back up' after Mexico loss

FIFA sent a message of encouragement to South Korea's national football team Monday after the squad fell 1-0 to Mexico in their Group A second match at the 2026 World Cup.

The FIFA World Cup's official social media account posted Monday, in Korean, "Get back up — fighting for the final group stage match," alongside individual photos of players who took the field against Mexico at Guadalajara Stadium on June 19.

The post overlaid the Korean characters spelling out "get back up" — one character per player — across the heads of Jo Gyu-seong, Eom Ji-seong, Lee Han-beom, Lee Kang-in, Hwang Hee-chan and Hwang In-beom.

On June 19, FIFA had also shared photos of players lying on the pitch during the match, with the Korean words for "we lost, but we fought well" superimposed across the images.

FIFA accompanied that post with the caption: "The Taeguk Warriors gave everything they had, even in defeat."

Fans responding to the posts left comments including "FIFA is paying attention because the goals aren't coming," "Let's make sure our players' efforts aren't wasted — we must beat South Africa," "Fighting, Korea," and "Don't be discouraged — let's do what we've prepared and celebrate together."

South Korea beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in their opening match before losing 1-0 to Mexico, leaving them second in Group A with three points.

The team's third and final group stage match is against South Africa on Thursday at Monterrey Stadium in Monterrey, Mexico. The squad arrived in Monterrey that day. A draw would be enough for South Korea to secure a place in the round of 32.

Meanwhile, sports analytics firm Opta put South Korea's chances of advancing to the round of 32 at 91.22 percent.

Hong Myung-bo's side arrived in Monterrey ahead of the decisive South Africa clash, greeted by a crowd of supporters despite sweltering heat.

홍명보호 ‘운명의 남아공전’ 몬테레이 입성…찜통더위 속 환영 인파

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