Team Korea Arrives in Monterrey Today: Overcoming 'Sweltering Heat' Is Key

[Anchor]

The third match against South Africa, which will determine whether the team advances to the Round of 32 in the World Cup, will be held in Monterrey, Mexico.

The sweltering heat is the main concern here. Reporter Pyeon Gwanghyeon, who arrived in the city a day ahead of the national team, reports on the atmosphere on the ground.

[Reporter]

Monterrey, the third-largest city in Mexico, is located at an altitude of 500 meters—lower than Pyeongchang in Korea—unlike the high-altitude regions over 1,500 meters above sea level that the national team has been adapting to so far.

The summer heat here is similar to that of Korea.

It is late afternoon at the Monterrey Stadium, ahead of the match between Japan and Tunisia.

Volunteers seeking shelter in the shade are fanning themselves repeatedly due to the scorching heat.

Unlike Guadalajara, where the evenings were cool, the temperature in Monterrey does not drop below 30°C (86°F) until 6:00 PM.

Monterrey, which lacks air conditioning in its stadium, is considered effectively the hottest city among the tournament's host cities. The forecast predicts that the perceived temperature could reach as high as 38°C (100°F) on the day of our match.

[Talia & Fernanda / Mexican Soccer Fans: I think the Korean players' performance might drop because of the heat. (It's so hot, isn't it?) It's really hot.]

[Regina / Mexican Soccer Fan: They will definitely need to make many substitutions because of the humidity and the heat.]

For this reason, our national team is arriving in Monterrey early today (June 22), one day ahead of FIFA's recommendation, to undergo "heat acclimatization" to adjust their bodies to the sweltering weather.

On the other hand, our opponent, South Africa, may face difficulties adjusting to Monterrey.

They have been training at their base camp in Pachuca, where daytime temperatures are only 22°C (72°F), and plan to arrive in Monterrey two days before the match, leaving them less time to adapt to the heat than our team.

Our national team, which spent yesterday recharging without training and vowed to win, will hold their final training session at the Guadalajara camp this morning before heading to Monterrey.

[Cho Gue-sung / National Soccer Team Forward: All the players are preparing well, and we will make sure to repay the fans with a good performance and a victory in the match against South Africa.]

(Video reporting: Hwang In-seok | Video editing: Kim Jong-mi | Design: Jang Chae-woo)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.