Mexican media outlet "Puebla is highly likely to be a base camp for the South Korea World Cup."

*This content was translated by AI.

Local reports said that the South Korean national soccer team is likely to be Puebla, Mexico, as the 2026 FIFA North American World Cup base camp.

Mexican media El Sol de Puebla and Diario Cambio reported on the 8th (Korea time) that "Puebla is likely to be the base camp for the Korean national team," citing a press conference by the state's tourism minister Carla Lópezmalo.

Local media Intoreancia said, "According to Minister López Mallo, negotiations with the Korean national team have progressed, and a positive answer is expected. The South Korean national team has already completed its first inspection of the Puebla infrastructure. Puebla State will also hold negotiations with the other two national teams," he said.

Earlier, Coach Hong Myung-bo moved to Mexico to explore the candidate sites for the base camp after the 2026 FIFA North American World Cup draw held in Washington, D.C. last month. Coach Hong and officials from the Korea Football Association visited Puebla to check the stadium's environment, which was first known through López Mallo Puebla's social media and local media.

The average altitude of Puebla is known to be around 2,000 meters above sea level. If a base camp is set up in Puebla, the 5,1726-seat Estadio Cuautemok will be used as a training ground. The travel time between Guadalajara and Monterey, where the group stage of the World Cup finals will be held, is about an hour and a half by plane. South Korea will play in Guadalajara in the first and second rounds and Monterrey in the third round.

Not only Puebla, but also Guadalajara, where the first and second group games will be held, is also mentioned as a candidate for South Korea's base camp. Countries participating in the World Cup finals, including South Korea, will prioritize five candidate sites for the base camp and submit them to FIFA by the 9th. After that, FIFA will decide the base camp for the teams that advance to the World Cup finals in consideration of the stadium's distance and FIFA ranking. In addition to South Korea, which ranks 22nd in the FIFA rankings, Guadalajara is also reportedly considering Colombia (13th).

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*This content was translated by AI.