What a difference 40 years makes: Korea's World Cup squad returns to Mexico transformed
2026.06.17 07:01
The Korean national team's return to Mexico comes four decades after the country hosted the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
Yet while the venue is the same, almost everything else about the Taeguk Warriors has changed — including the team's infrastructure, experience, ambition and mentality.
"There was a feeling that we should at least avoid embarrassing ourselves,” said Cho Young-jeung, ex-technical director of the Korea Football Association (KFA) and a defender on the national team during the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.
For Korea, back then, the World Cup was not a stage of triumph but a painful memory. Its only previous appearance had been in Switzerland in 1954, where it suffered crushing 9-nil and 7-nil defeats to Hungary and Turkey, respectively.
Given that history, the team faced unavoidable anxiety and pressure heading into Mexico.
This time around, it's different.
On Thursday, Korea will face Mexico on the same pitch where it snatched a 2-1 come-from-behind victory against the Czech Republic in the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Guadalajara last week.
The team that once stepped onto the World Cup stage in fear now strides upon it with confidence. The contrast speaks for itself.
Korea has qualified for every World Cup since 1986, extending its streak to 11 consecutive appearances at this year's tournament.
Only four other nations — Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Spain — can make that boast. Although the World Cup has expanded to 48 teams, the achievement remains a testament to decades of squeezing through the notoriously difficult Asian qualifications.
Nowhere is that evolution more evident than in the infrastructure supporting the national team.
The 1986 squad had only two coaching staff members: head coach Kim Jung-nam and assistant Kim Ho-gon.
"We didn't even have a goalkeeping coach despite being the national team," recalled Kim Ho-gon, a former KFA vice president. "By the end, my own kicking had improved as I had to take shots myself while training the goalkeeper at the time."
The team had neither a doctor nor a physical therapist.
Park Kyung-hoon, a former KFA executive who played fullback on the 1986 squad, said the team temporarily borrowed a physical therapist from Bayer Leverkusen, where then-striker Cha Bum-kun was playing.
Today's national team is a bit better supported.
The team now has seven specialist coaches, including four foreign assistant coaches. The team is accompanied by two surgeons and a psychiatrist serving as a mental skills coach — for the first time in the team’s history.
That support was on full display against the Czech Republic. Despite suffering from a 38-degree Celsius (100.4-degree Fahrenheit) fever before the Czech Republic match, Oh Hyeon-gyu scored the winning goal.
Additionally, there are 27 local staff members responsible for administration, medical care, interpretation, equipment and security. This stands in stark contrast to 40 years ago, when players washed their own uniforms and socks by hand in bathtubs after training.
The contrast is just as stark when it comes to intelligence gathering and international experience.
"We went to the tournament without seeing a full video of any opponent," Park recalled. "The only footage we watched was a brief clip of Diego Maradona [of Argentina] from the earlier FIFA World Youth Championship.”
At the 1986 World Cup, Cha Bum-kun was the only active overseas-based player on the squad. Including Huh Jung-moo and Cho Young-jeung, only three players had any experience abroad. Cha Bum-kun effectively became the squad's resident guide to international football with nightly lessons at the team hotel.
Today's squad presents a completely different picture. A total of 19 of Korea's 26 players are playing overseas.
The lack of information in 1986 might have altered the course of Korea's World Cup campaign.
After losing 3-1 to Argentina and drawing 1-1 with Bulgaria, Korea faced Italy in its final group-stage match, where it lost 3-2 in a hard-fought match.
"I didn't learn until long after the match ended that a draw against Italy would have been enough to send us to the Round of 16 as the third-place team in the group," recalled Choi Soon-ho, a former KFA vice president and national team forward who scored in the Italy match. "Had we known that beforehand, we would have managed the final minutes very differently.”
Former players say the possible paths to the knockout stage were never clearly explained to the squad.
The dynamics surrounding national-team call-ups have been completely reversed as well.
"I played six years in the K League, but I spent more time with the national team," Choi said. "In reality, my club was almost ‘FC Korea.’”
Back then, domestic football largely revolved around serving the national team.
That is no longer the case. Korean professional football has developed a life of its own, with a stronger, more independent footing than it had four decades ago.
On June 6, some 15,000 fans turned out for a K League 2 match between Hwaseong FC and Suwon Samsung Bluewings.
"These days, so many players are used to performing on the biggest stages that the World Cup doesn't overwhelm them," Park said. "Look at Son Heung-min — he's already playing in his fourth."
Huh Jung-moo still remembers the challenge of tracking Maradona throughout the 1986 World Cup, an assignment he later described as "relentless."
"If the players commit themselves to one another and play as a team, there is no reason they cannot reach the quarterfinals and perhaps go beyond," Huh said.
Stuck at work or school when Korea kicks off? We've got you covered. The Korea JoongAng Daily is live-blogging every Korea match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, around the clock. Don't miss a moment.
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