Seoul: With South Korea having avoided a top-10 opponent in the group stage of next year's FIFA World Cup, head coach Hong Myung-bo still said Friday there won't be any easy team for his side. At the draw for the big tournament held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., South Korea ended up in Group A with Mexico, South Africa, and a winner of one of four European playoffs.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Mexico is the highest-ranked team in that group at No. 15, seven spots ahead of South Korea. South Africa is No. 61, and 21st-ranked Denmark is the top-ranked nation that can join Group A from the European playoffs in March. The participating teams were divided into four "pots" based on their FIFA ranking positions from November, with the six teams that will emerge from the European and inter-confederation playoffs all placed into Pot 4. South Korea was in Pot 2, while the three co-hosts of Mexico, Canada, and the United States were automatically put in Pot 1 regardless of their ranking positions, alongside the likes of world No. 1 Spain, defending champions Argentina, and perennial contenders Brazil and France.

South Korea had the fortune of drawing the second-lowest ranked team from Pot 1 in Mexico, the lowest-ranked nation from Pot 3 in South Africa, and avoiding the highest-ranked team remaining in the European playoffs in world No. 12 Italy. "I guess you could say it is a bit of a good thing for us," Hong told reporters after the draw when asked about not having to face a South American or a European power. "However, the home field advantage can play a huge role. When I think about the times when we were the home team (at the 2002 World Cup), the home field advantage can help teams perform even better than what they're capable of. There is no one that we can consider an easy team."

South Korea has four wins, three draws, and eight losses against Mexico, including a 3-1 defeat in the group stage of the 1998 World Cup in France and a 2-1 loss in the group phase of the 2018 tournament in Russia. The two countries ended in a 2-2 draw in a friendly match in September this year in Nashville, Tennessee. "Back then and even today, Mexico are a great team," Hong said. "Compared to the past, though, we have more experienced players. Mexico have the home advantage, but we will prepare for that match the best we can."

South Korea has never faced South Africa before and last played Denmark in 2009. "South Africa has played really well over their past five matches, and so we will have to keep an eye on that," Hong said. "We expect either Denmark or Ireland to come out of that playoff, and we will be monitoring their matches to analyze those teams as well."

With the World Cup having expanded from 32 teams to 48 teams for the first time, the knockout stage format has also changed. The top two nations from each group will punch their direct tickets and will be joined by the eight best third-place teams. When asked to predict knockout-bound teams from Group A, Hong said, "I'd like South Korea to be one of them. The important thing is how well we can play to our strengths and how well we will adjust to our surroundings," Hong added.

One benefit of getting slotted into Group A for South Korea will be comparatively less traveling than other countries. They will play all three group matches in Mexico, including the first two at the same stadium, Estadio Guadalajara near Guadalajara, and the final one at Estadio Monterrey in Monterrey. Many other teams will have to make cross-border trips between the U.S. and Canada or between the U.S. and Mexico in the group stage. "For us, this will be a Mexico World Cup," Hong said with a smile.

The coach, though, voiced other concerns about the location. "We have to play the first two matches at a high altitude, about 1,600 meters above sea level, and the third match will be in a hot and humid place," Hong said. "It will take at least 10 days, or as long as two weeks, to adapt to such a high altitude. We will probably have to get there as soon as our squad gets assembled."

Group A teams will all play on the first day of the tournament, June 11, giving them less time to prepare than those in other groups. However, they will be afforded six days of break before their second matches, something that only the two other co-hosts, the U.S. and Canada, will enjoy, while the remaining countries will get four or five days off between the first two matches. "It's a bit unfortunate we will have less time to train, but everyone in our group will be in the same boat," Hong said. "We will have extra rest after the first match. And we will have to approach every game like it's war."