Keep it in the Family (227) - World Cup • Group Stage • South Korea vs New Caledonia (Patreon) (Patreon)

The draw ceremony had happened in Osaka months before the opening match.

Group A 🇯🇵 Japan (host), 🇨🇴 Colombia, 🇷🇸 Serbia, 🇭🇳 Honduras

Group B 🇰🇷 South Korea, 🇺🇬 Uganda, 🇳🇨 New Caledonia, 🇪🇨 Ecuador

Group C 🇦🇷 Argentina, 🇦🇺 Australia, 🇲🇿 Mozambique, 🇩🇰 Denmark

Group D 🇫🇷 France, 🇭🇹 Haiti, 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia, 🇺🇾 Uruguay

Group E 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇯🇲 Jamaica, 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast, 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan

Group F 🇸🇳 Senegal, 🇭🇷 Croatia, 🇨🇺 Cuba, 🇹🇯 Tajikistan

Group G 🇲🇱 Mali, 🇳🇿 New Zealand, 🇧🇪 Belgium, 🇲🇽 Mexico

Group H 🇪🇸 Spain, 🇮🇷 Iran, 🇫🇯 Fiji, 🇲🇦 Morocco

Group I 🇧🇷 Brazil, 🇮🇪 Republic of Ireland, 🇹🇿 Tanzania, 🇨🇷 Costa Rica

Group J 🇺🇸 United States, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇨🇱 Chile, 🇩🇿 Algeria

Group K 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England, 🇷🇴 Romania, 🇨🇲 Cameroon, 🇻🇪 Venezuela

Group L 🇯🇵 🇶🇦 Qatar, 🇵🇦 Panama, 🇪🇬 Egypt, 🇬🇷 Greece

This was the official group draw for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup. It was pretty obvious why Group I was called the Group of Death. With Brazil being worshipped as the best upcoming team in recent history, and with a proven record of their talent, there was no shred of doubt about who would top that group. 

The tournament format was fairly straightforward—twelve groups of four teams each, with the top two from each group advancing to the knockout stage alongside the eight best third-placed teams to form a Round of 32. 

From there, it was pure single elimination all the way to the final in Yokohama. 

We were grouped in Group B, with Uganda, New Caledonia, and Ecuador. On paper, it looked manageable. But I knew better than to underestimate any team at this level.

The Asian Cup couldn’t compare to foreign tournaments—it was simply the way it was, and this would be likely a wake-up call for my teammates. Thankfully, the group itself wasn’t a death sentence like Brazil’s one, so we had time to adapt.

The first match would be against New Caledonia, the Pacific Islands underdogs who had surprised everyone by topping their qualifiers. 

They were physically imposing and played a direct style of football. They'd hardly be called the top contenders for the cup, but with them being in a group that contained a top favorite, one can see why a Cinderella story could well emerge.

I really hoped we wouldn’t flop right here after dominating the AFC. The backlash would be crazy. 

Ecuador and Uganda were also physical, possession-based teams. I'd looked up their roster, and they had burgeoning talents that would eventually shine in Europe. I was surprised by the staggering rise of talents in this generation.

Back in my previous life, there were many talents, both emerging and already hardened and seasoned, standing at the very top of the world. 

I was brushing shoulders with giants long before I hit my prime, so I wasn’t particularly fazed.

No matter. We weren't going there to be the second-placed team.

The press back home expected big things. Some commentators believed the South Koreans were already strong contenders. South Korea's soccer infrastructure had improved vastly, and there was a well-planned scouting and development plan in place.

We had the confidence, we had the skills, and the manpower.

We will take it by the horns.

"What got you smiling like that?"

Jong-su dropped onto the sofa next to me, tilting his head to one side curiously. I didn't have to ask what he was doing here in my hotel room. Of course he came to make sure that the rising star wouldn't lose any more sleep.

My grin didn't go away. "Can't a man just feel good?"

I shook my head, rising from the bed and patting my teammate's back.

"Tomorrow will be fun."

"Right?" His expression lit up, a kid on Christmas Eve. "I really feel good about this cup... I feel like we might win it, you know? I can't describe this feeling properly. Maybe because we haven't lost in this competition...but I just want this badly, man. I need this... no, all of us need this..."

"It would look really good on your resume, though, wouldn't it?" I said playfully. "And you could boast it out to the girls. You did the impossible!"

"Yes, I, Jong-su, the defender of the most undefeatable group ever..." He trailed off, smirking widely, pointing a finger at himself, then nodded. "We'll be relying on you and Jun-hwan a lot... Coach might not admit it publicly; the entire team's dynamics revolve around you two. And honestly, it's the only way for us to make it out alive. So I'll do my best to protect our half, while you do your best to destroy theirs."

I turned towards the large open window, feeling the chill night wind breeze blow in, spreading my arms as I breathed it in and glanced down at the nightscape of the Japanese city.

A loud, somewhat mischievous chuckle left my mouth as I shut the curtains.

"Like we haven't done that before, but since we've come this far.."

xXx

Group B, Match 1: South Korea vs. New Caledonia

Noevir Stadium, Kobe

Attendance: 25,400

The stadium sat against the Rokko mountain backdrop, a sea of red-clad supporters in the stands.

Coach Ahn had given his pre-match talk in the changing room, his gravelly voice filling the space. He'd kept it simple. Something along the lines of 'Don't be surprised by their size. Be faster than it.'

I stood in the tunnel and looked at the rectangle of light at the far end where the pitch opened up, and felt the familiar compression happen. The same thing that always happened in the last two minutes before walking out.

Everything else vanished.

I thought of Mia, Su Ah, Eun Ha.

The noise from the crowd, the nervous banter from the younger players, even the sound of my own heartbeat.

Ahn's hand came down heavy on my shoulder.

"You know what to do." He said it quietly, just to me.

Yes, I knew.

I knew very well.

The referee's assistant appeared at the tunnel entrance.

"Two minutes."

Jong-su, somewhere behind me, exhaled audibly. Jun-hwan, beside me, rolled his shoulders and neck.

I bounced lightly on the balls of my feet. The feeling was back. The feeling of being utterly, completely, and perfectly alive. It wasn't something repetitive training drills or the occasional match against lesser opponents could replicate. It was the feeling of a true challenge, a high-stakes game against the best in the world.

I was sure that feeling would be even higher in the finals, if we got there, but if we did, there was a high chance we'd face Brazil. We were in different brackets, so the earliest we could possibly face each other would be in the finals.

The referee called us.

We walked out of the tunnel.

The South Korean national anthem rang out over the speakers.

We lined up. I scanned the New Caledonia starting eleven.

Tall. All of them tall.

Their captain, a center-back built like a middleweight boxer, stared right back at me. I huffed, smiling slightly. They were all bedecked in black and red, while we were in white.

The national anthem faded into the roar of the crowd. Red flags and banners rippled across the stands like a giant ocean.

It was time.

As the rest of the members set up, I faced New Caledonia's captain for the coin toss. The referee pulled out a ten yen coin from the pouch on his hip. He flipped it up and slapped it down on the back of his hand. Heads.

"New Caledonia will take the kick off."

The New Caledonian captain nodded without a word and walked away.

Jong-su, standing on my left, gave me a quick, determined glance. I nodded in return.

We took our positions.

The crowd's noise rose in pitch. The referee's whistle blew.

New Caledonia's central midfielder, a lanky boy with dreadlocks, tapped the ball to a teammate and immediately sent it backward before sprinting forward into our half.

The ball touched the foot of a full back for only an instant before it was sent careening into our half.

Their playstyle was as expected. The ball went long immediately, sailing high into our box towards their target man, a number 9 who looked to be at least 6'2".

But Jong-su was ready. He timed his jump perfectly, out-muscling the striker and heading the ball away. 

Like a disturbed ant colony, the rest of our defensive line reorganized quickly, with Dae-hyun stepping in to sweep the rebound away and immediately looking to pass the ball out.

And then, a blur.

I was already moving before Dae-hyun even made contact with the ball.

He played it out to our right-back, who took a touch forward before sending it long up the line to Sung-tae, the latter of whom didn't hoggle it and passed it right back.

A back and forth between them that gradually gained us ground, before Sung-tae sliced it low across the pitch, only to find Jun-hwan in the perfect position. He had it, he turned, without scanning beforehand but lobbing it right where I was making my run into their half, splitting open two of their midfielders as I burst through.

The ball landed at my feet.