"I was extremely surprised by South Korea's performance" — Spanish national team center-back Eric Garcia offers a surprise compliment

*This content was translated by AI.

Eric Garcia (25, FC Barcelona), a center-back participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean as a member of the Spanish national football team, praised the South Korean national team's performance.

In an interview with Spanish media Mundo Deportivo released on the 20th (Korea time), when asked about the teams or players that impressed him most in this World Cup, Garcia replied, "South Korea was a team that really surprised me," adding, "I think they played a very good game."

The exact timing of the interview was not disclosed, but considering the time of the article's release and the South Korean national team's World Cup schedule, it is interpreted as praise for the group stage match against the Czech Republic. At that time, South Korea scored two consecutive goals after conceding the first goal, securing a 2-1 comeback victory. A compliment from a center-back playing for a world-class team is welcome in itself.

Garcia also praised the performance of the German national team (a 7-1 win over Curaçao) besides South Korea, and regarding the Group L clash between England and Croatia, he said, "It was truly excellent. Everyone is at a high level in this World Cup." At that time, England and Croatia were tied 2-2 at halftime, but England scored two more goals in the second half to win 4-2.

When asked about players who impressed him in this World Cup, Garcia said, "Excluding (Lionel) Messi, who is no longer surprising to anyone, I would like to highlight Yannick Djimande (Leipzig). I really liked his performance." Djimande, who plays for the Ivory Coast national team, started as a right winger and played the full match in the group stage opener against Ecuador, recording five key passes (the most in the match).

Continuing, Garcia expressed amazement at Messi, who scored a hat-trick in the Group J opener against Algeria, saying, "Watching his play, I feel he will participate in the next World Cup as well. It's truly unbelievable." He added, "Marking Messi in the final will be a very difficult task, but it would be a dream come true for everyone. While they will fight to win on the field, after the final, they will realize they have played against the best player they have ever seen. Still, I hope they meet in the final."

Eric Garcia, a center-back, made his professional debut with Manchester City in 2018 after progressing through the youth academies of Barcelona and Manchester City. He later returned to his former club Barcelona, went on loan to Girona, and established himself as a key player for Barcelona. Spain, which includes Garcia, is considered a strong contender for the championship in this tournament, but they drew 0-0 with Cape Verde in their Group H opener, damaging their pride. They will face Saudi Arabia in their second group stage match at 1 a.m. on the 22nd.

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*This content was translated by AI.