[2026 World Cup] Czech Coach Koubek: "Korea More Impressive Than Mexico"

Miroslav Koubek, head coach of the Czech Republic national football team, stated that among Korea and Mexico—both contenders for the top spot in Group A at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America—he found Korea to be more impressive.

At a press conference held at Atlanta Stadium in Georgia, USA, on June 18, 2026 (Korean time), one day before the second Group A match against South Africa, Coach Koubek said, "I think Mexico and Korea are the main contenders for first place in our group. The two teams will face each other tomorrow, and while we have to wait and see the result, to be honest, I was more strongly impressed by Korea."

Miroslav Koubek, head coach of the Czech national soccer team, is holding a press conference on the 18th (Korean time) at Atlanta Stadium in Georgia, USA, one day before the second Group A match against South Africa. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

The Czech Republic played its first Group A match against Korea on June 12. Although the Czech team scored the opening goal, they conceded consecutive goals to Hwang Inbeom and Oh Hyungyu, resulting in a 2-1 come-from-behind defeat.

The match against Korea was held at Guadalajara Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico, which sits at an altitude of 1,571 meters. After the match, Korea's head coach Hong Myungbo analyzed in an interview that altitude adaptation training was one of the main factors behind the victory. Before the North and Central America World Cup, the Korean team conducted altitude adaptation training for about three weeks in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. In contrast, the Czech Republic was unable to undergo altitude adaptation training after securing qualification for the finals in March.

However, Coach Koubek expressed the view that altitude was not the decisive factor in the outcome of the match.

He said, "I think we showed fairly good performance in the high-altitude environment against Korea. Korea looked more dynamic than us, but I believe that was due to the players' skills, not the altitude."

The Czech Republic will face South Africa in their second Group A match at Atlanta Stadium on June 19.

Coach Koubek emphasized, "The altitude is low here, so our players are in very good condition. We have not secured any points yet, so the situation is difficult. We absolutely have to win the next match."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.