On September 16, according to South Korean media outlet SPOTV NEWS, the South Korea men's under-23 national football team encountered an unexpected incident before their first match at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Due to a transportation error by the event's organizing committee, the Korean team's bus was mistakenly directed to a baseball stadium, causing the team to arrive at the venue approximately 30 minutes later than scheduled and potentially affecting their normal match preparations.

The South Korea men's under-23 national football team, managed by Lee Min-sung, played their first match in Group D of the Asian Games men's football tournament against Qatar at Mizuho Park Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on September 15. South Korea secured a convincing 4-1 victory over Qatar, with Um Ji-sung scoring a hat-trick and Kim Myung-jun adding one goal, making a strong start to the tournament.

However, just over an hour before the match began, the South Korean team experienced a rather absurd incident.

Organizing Committee Driver Went to Wrong Venue, Both Teams' Buses Headed to Baseball Stadium

According to a Korean Football Association official, the bus driver arranged by the organizing committee that day misidentified the match venue location.

Both the South Korean and Qatari teams were staying at the same hotel, and both took buses arranged by the organizing committee to travel to the match venue. However, both buses inexplicably headed simultaneously to the baseball stadium within Mizuho Park instead of Mizuho Rugby Stadium in Nagoya, where the football match was being held that day (a major professional facility hosting rugby and football events in the area).

Under normal circumstances, the journey from the team hotel to the match venue would take only about 20 minutes. According to the organizing committee's schedule, the South Korean team departed the hotel around 5:20 p.m. local time. Had they followed the correct route, the team could have arrived early with plenty of time for pre-match preparations.

However, once the bus took the wrong direction, the entire schedule fell apart.

After the vehicle arrived at the baseball stadium, it had to turn around and head to the rugby stadium, where it then encountered heavy traffic. The journey, which should have taken about 20 minutes, ultimately lasted nearly an hour.

The South Korean team finally arrived at the match venue around 6:25 p.m., approximately 30 minutes later than planned. The Qatar team faced the same problem.

Heavy Rain in Nagoya, Teams Face Additional Challenges Before Match

Adding to the misfortune, Nagoya had been experiencing heavy rain that day leading up to the match.

For players, it is essential to concentrate on warm-ups, adjust their physical condition, and prepare tactics before a match. Instead, they had to endure the unexpected situation of the bus going to the wrong location in heavy rain.

What makes this even more inexplicable is that there was no Asian Games match scheduled at Mizuho Park's baseball stadium that day.

The baseball events for these Asian Games are not held in Nagoya, but in other cities in Aichi Prefecture. This means the buses transporting the South Korean and Qatari football teams headed inexplicably and simultaneously to a location hosting no Asian Games baseball matches that day.

Could Have Affected Normal Match Proceedings

This error could have even affected the normal progression of the match.

According to standard match procedures, teams must arrive at the stadium well before kickoff, organize their equipment in the locker rooms, inspect field conditions, and begin warm-ups at the designated time. Therefore, had the delay been any greater, it could have impacted the teams' pre-match preparations and even match operations.

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario did not occur.

Both the South Korea and Qatar teams arrived at the stadium just before the scheduled warm-up time. Although the teams' preparation time was significantly reduced, both ultimately completed their warm-ups as planned, and the match kicked off on schedule at 7:30 p.m.

Korean Football Association: Cannot Be Considered Normal Event Operations

After the match, a Korean Football Association official explained what happened.

The official stated: "The bus driver arranged by the organizing committee misidentified the match venue location, so both teams' buses were directed to the baseball stadium."

He further explained: "The team departed at the time stipulated by the organizing committee, but encountered traffic congestion on the return route to the actual match venue after going to the baseball stadium. The entire journey took nearly an hour, and they ultimately arrived at the stadium approximately 30 minutes later than planned."

"Fortunately, both teams arrived just before the scheduled warm-up time, so we were able to maintain arrangements such as the kickoff time. However, this situation clearly cannot be considered normal event operations."

Not the First Transportation Issue for Korean Team

The report noted that this incident can hardly be considered merely an isolated accident.

In fact, even before the official opening of the Asian Games, the South Korean delegation had encountered multiple transportation-related problems.

On September 14, the day before South Korea's match against Qatar, Lee Min-sung and the South Korean delegation staff had planned to travel by car to the official press conference, but the vehicle arranged for pickup did not arrive at the team hotel on time.

As a result, the South Korean team ultimately arrived at the press conference slightly after the scheduled start time.

A Korean Football Association official also stated: "Beyond this, throughout the event, we have experienced continual transportation and vehicle operation issues, both minor and major, each time we have traveled for training or official events."

He added: "This is not just a problem we are facing; all teams participating in this event are currently experiencing similar situations."

South Korea Still Achieved a Strong Victory in Their First Match

Despite encountering unexpected transportation problems caused by the organizing committee before their first match, the South Korean team was not significantly affected.

The team arrived at the stadium just as the match was about to begin, completed their warm-ups as planned, and then scored 4 goals during the match, ultimately securing a convincing 4-1 victory over Qatar and making a strong start in the men's football group stage of the Asian Games.

Traducido por IA.

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