By Kim Tae Won and Kim Young Shin

Korea will be competing against Germany, Mexico and Sweden for a ticket into the Round of 16 at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.

At the draw for the 32 World Cup teams, held at the Kremlin in Moscow on Dec. 2, Korea was placed into Group F, alongside FIFA world champion Germany, Mexico, which ranks 16th, and Sweden, 18th.

Korea’s first match will be against Sweden on June 18, 2018, at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Russia.

The following matches will be against Mexico on June 24 at the Rostov Stadium and then against Germany on June 27 at the Kazan Arena.

“It's not the best, but not the worst,” said Team Korea head coach Shin Tae-yong. “Depending on how prepared we will be, we might perform well.”

To assign teams to groups, a new format was applied this year that grouped the teams by their world ranking rather than by their continent. The results are broadly considered to be even, with no obvious “Group of Death.” One of the most anticipated matches is the opening match of Group A between host Russia and Saudi Arabia. Another noteworthy match is the game between the Iberian rivals Spain and Portugal in Group B.

twkim0717@korea.kr