Son mocked and South Korea face a must-not-lose finale

Win or go home, South Africa awaits

This is it. South Korea face South Africa on Thursday in the final Group A match, and the equation is simple: win or draw and you reach the round of 32. Lose, and the tournament is over (1) (2) (3). The match will not be on free TV in Germany, which has frustrated fans following the Taegeuk Warriors abroad (4). South Korea sit on zero points after two matches, with the 1–0 defeat to Mexico still stinging (5).

Son mocked, drones shot down, chaos around the camp

Son Heung-min's late-night taco run in Guadalajara has become a talking point. The former Tottenham forward took an Uber from the training base to downtown, got mobbed by fans, and then faced ridicule online, both for the restaurant choice and for the military-service jibes that followed (5). Son, who turns 34 before the quarter-final stage, was feeding off scraps against Mexico as South Korea played for a draw until goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu's error gifted the co-hosts their winner (5). Separately, a drone was shot down near the team's camp, adding to the sense of a squad under siege (5).

Kim Seung-gyu's error still looms

The Mexico loss came down to one moment: Kim Seung-gyu's costly mistake. South Korea were passive, sitting deep for a point, when the goalkeeper, also caught up in the taco-run story, handed Mexico a goal from nowhere (5). Manager Hong Myung-bo has kept faith in his players publicly, but the defensive setup looked fragile under pressure.