'Coreano Hermano': Ahead of Mexico vs. South Korea, it's all love between the fans

Josh Lee and Fernando Delgado hold a fake trophy outside the Biergarten in Los Angeles' Koreatown before the South Korea vs. Czech Republic World Cup game on June 11. Karla Gachet for NPR hide caption

LOS ANGELES — Best friends Fernando Delgado and Josh Lee are still riding the high of seeing both their homelands — Mexico and South Korea — win their opening matches at the 2026 World Cup.

Now, their teams are going head-to-head and Delgado is hoping for a miracle, but not in the way you might think.

" A draw would be the ideal case," he says. "Because I think other than that, it's gonna be like, 'Oh man.'"

For all of the rivalries and bad blood that sports can foster, something different is in the air ahead of the Mexico vs. South Korea match on Thursday.

Earlier this month, when South Korea's squad arrived at their hotel in Guadalajara, Mexico, they were welcomed by hundreds of Mexican supporters. On social media, countless videos show fun-loving South Korean tourists partying and enjoying World Cup festivities with locals in Mexico — often with the caption, " Coreano, hermano ya eres Mexicano ," meaning "Korean, brother, you are Mexican now."

Fans of South Korean and Mexico celebrate together in Guadalajara, Mexico, after the 2026 World Cup match between South Korea and the Czech Republic on June 11. Ivan Arias/Reuters hide caption

The chant is a callback to the 2018 World Cup, the last time the two nations squared off on the global stage. Eight years later, as El Tri and the Taegeuk Warriors face off once again, fans from both sides are rekindling that brotherly love, adding that it's a reflection of a much deeper affinity between the two communities.