South Korea's under-23 men's soccer team at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has run into repeated transportation problems, first getting to a match venue and then reaching a training site.
The South Korean team, coached by Lee Min-sung, opened its Group D campaign with a 4-1 win over Qatar on the 15th. Before and after the match, however, the squad was unable to keep to its schedule because of poorly run transportation by the organizing committee.
The team was scheduled to travel to a training ground on the morning of the 16th for a recovery session. But no vehicle arrived at the team hotel, forcing officials to scramble for a replacement. The session, originally set to begin at 10:30 a.m., could not start until the team arrived at the site at about 10:50 a.m.
A Baseball Park One Day, a Missing Bus the Next
The trouble was not new. On the 15th, the day of the Qatar match, the team also had an unexpected detour on its way to the stadium.
The driver of the team bus did not have a clear grasp of the destination and headed for a baseball park near Mizuho Park instead of the rugby stadium inside the park where the soccer match was being held. Both South Korea and Qatar ended up arriving at the venue about 30 minutes later than scheduled.
Mizuho Park houses several sports facilities, including the main stadium that will host the Asian Games opening ceremony on the 19th. But no Asian Games events are being held at the baseball park the bus went to. Baseball is being played in another city in Aichi Prefecture, not in Nagoya.
On the 14th, Lee and other team officials had also waited for a vehicle to take them to an official news conference, but the assigned vehicle never came to the hotel and they arrived late.
An official at the Korea Football Association said minor problems with vehicle assignments and operations have kept cropping up whenever the team travels to training sessions and official events during the Games. "This is not just us. Every team competing at these Games is dealing with the same thing," the official said.
Vietnam's Volleyball Team Sent to the Wrong Hotel, Left to Walk With Their Bags
The problems have not been limited to the South Korean team. Vietnam's women's volleyball team was directed to the wrong hotel ahead of the opening of the Games, leaving the entire squad to haul their own luggage to the right one.
According to Vietnamese outlet Lao Dong, the team arrived in Nagoya on the morning of the 14th and took a vehicle provided by the organizing committee to its accommodations. The vehicle, however, pulled up at a different hotel from the one assigned to the squad.
The players, coaching staff and officials had to collect their bags at the wrong hotel and walk to their assigned lodgings. Vietnam is in Group D with South Korea in the women's volleyball tournament. South Korea plays Vietnam, Hong Kong and Qatar in the group stage.
