Mexican military forces intercepted and brought down a drone that flew near the South Korea team’s training camp ahead of its World Cup match against Mexico, a federal official told the Associated Press.

Military forces used specialised equipment to detect an “unregistered drone” near the South Korean camp, prompting them to “neutralise” it, the Mexican federal agent said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the incident publicly.

Co-hosts Mexico won their opening Group A match at the World Cup last week while South Korea beat the Czechia later that same day. It was not clear if the drone was trying to spy on the South Korean team ahead of Thursday’s match between the teams.

The South Korea coach, Hong Myung-bo, called the incident “unfortunate”.

“During our training, there was a drone in the sky that we came to know about the fact,” Hong said. “But fortunately, it was right before we practised our tactics, so it did not impact us. But while we were preparing for the match, that was the most important timing, so what happened was unfortunate.”

The Mexican operation was part of a security plan involving military and local police forces for the 2026 World Cup, which kicked off on 11 June in Mexico City and is being co-hosted by the United States and Canada until 19 July.

The official did not say when the incident occurred or whether any arrests were made. He said only that several drones had been neutralised in recent days after attempting to enter security zones around stadiums in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey – the tournament’s three host cities in Mexico – as well as team base camps and fan festivals.

In March, Mexican authorities announced a World Cup security operation known as “Plan Kukulkán,” involving about 100,000 personnel from federal and local military and police forces. The plan includes early warning systems, security measures at stadiums, airports, roads and hotels, and protection protocols for teams, officials and fans.

In Canada, authorities have banned unauthorised drones from flying over World Cup stadiums and several training sites in Vancouver and Toronto as a security measure. The restrictions remain in effect until 7 July – the date of the last game scheduled to be staged in the country.

In 2024, the Canadian women’s national team was accused of using a drone to spy on a New Zealand training session in the days leading up to their opening match at the Paris Olympics, triggering a spying scandal that led to sanctions against Canada.

The scandal led to the suspension of two coaching staff members and the head coach Bev Priestman, who was subsequently dismissed by Canada Soccer. The Canadian women’s team – the reigning Olympic champions from the Tokyo Games – was deducted six points from its group standings in France.

Canada Soccer later determined that the incident was not an isolated error but part of a pattern of insufficient oversight within the national teams.