2026 World Cup: Drone Alert During South Korea’s Training Session

During Tuesday’s closed-door training session in Guadalajara, a drone flew over the heads of the South Korean soccer players. Members of the Asian team’s staff immediately alerted the relevant authorities, and the National Guard managed to shoot down the small aircraft.

Law enforcement officials have seized the drone and are currently reviewing surveillance footage from the “Chivas Verde Valle” sports center to identify those responsible. The South Korean Football Association has not yet commented on the incident.

Heung-min Son and his teammates got off to a great start in this World Cup, defeating the Czech Republic 2-1 thanks to goals by Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu. On Friday night at 3 a.m. Italian time, they will face Mexico, which defeated South Africa 2-0 in the first round.

Before the drone incident, there had already been another incident involving South Korea: during a training session, some journalists present—unaware that certain microphones were still on—used very unkind words when talking about Heung-min Son, and the federation subsequently canceled all individual interviews.