There is a variable in Hong Myung-bo's preparation for the Iraq game. It was doping.

Director Hong Myung-bo? 渼 Yub?The South Korean national football team A will play the fourth match of Group B against Iraq in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North China World Cup at Mir Stadium in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do on the 15th at 8 p.m. This game against Iraq is the biggest turning point of the third qualifying round. South Korea emerged No. 1 in Group B with a 2-0 comprehensive win in an away game in Jordan on the 10th. Iraq (goal difference +2), which beat Palestine 1-0 in the third round, also led Korea Republic (+4) with a goal difference of just 2 wins and 1 draw. When it passes through Iraq, it will have a dominant system. He can take a big step closer to reaching the World Cup final for the eleventh time in a row. In the third qualifying round, the first and second placed teams advance directly to the World Cup final and the third and fourth placed teams advance to the fourth qualifying round.

Hong Myung-bo had his last training session at Mir Stadium on the 14th, a day before the game. All 26 players, including Lee Seung-woo and Moon Sun-min (North Jeolla Province), attended training that day without leaving. There was a variable. The training was originally scheduled to take place at 4:00 p.m., but the scheduled time started at 4:40 p.m., 40 minutes later.

There was a reason. It was doping. The team was contacted by the Korean Anti-Doping Commission (KADA) an hour before training. Eight people were randomly tested for doping during training shifts. A national team official said: “Basically, the doping protocol should be done without prior notice.” In some cases, requests are received on the morning of the game. That’s something you have to accept when preparing for the game.”

The problem was the schedule. The official said: “Doping control is not easy. You have to have a lot of urine. Depending on the situation, it could take hours. So some players passed a certain amount of urine, but many didn't. Since the training time was delayed, the next schedule, such as dinner, was inevitably delayed. There was also an Iraqi training plan. At the end, Coach Hong spoke up. An official said: “Director Hong decided to delay the matter by making a request to the doping official himself. The players who have not yet submitted have decided to try again after training. “It is something to be done, but it is true that there is a subtle disruption to tomorrow's game.”