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The view of the 974 Stadium where the Round of 16 match between South Korea and Brazil in the 2022 Qatar World Cup is held. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Culture Young Intern Reporter] As Korea advances to the Round of 16, it will play in a different stadium for the first time since the opening of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The match against Brazil will take place at 4 a.m. (Korean time) on the 6th at the 974 Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

Korea played all three Group H matches in the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, making this their first encounter with the 974 Stadium. Brazil previously played and won their Group G second match against Switzerland at this stadium.

The 974 Stadium is considered the most unique among the eight stadiums hosting the 2022 Qatar World Cup. It was originally designed with demolition in mind for environmental reasons, and its name comes from the 974 shipping containers used to build the stadium. Additionally, 974 is Qatar’s international telephone country code, and the containers symbolize Qatar’s maritime trade tradition. When the stadium is dismantled, the materials used will be recycled.

This World Cup was held in winter to accommodate the hot Middle Eastern climate, and Qatar installed air conditioning in each stadium to maintain internal temperatures. However, the 974 Stadium is the only venue in this tournament without air conditioning. Instead, it relies on 'natural wind' flowing between the land and sea, as it is located by the coast, to cool the stadium.

Since the wind becomes cooler only after sunset, FIFA scheduled matches at the 974 Stadium to be held during the relatively fresh evening and night hours. Recently, temperatures in Qatar have been around 27 degrees Celsius during the day and 24 degrees Celsius at night. A total of six group stage matches have been held at this stadium, with four matches at 7 p.m. local time and two at 10 p.m. Previously, Korea played twice at 4 p.m. and once at 6 p.m., so they will need to adjust to the new 10 p.m. match time.

Meanwhile, after the group stage ended, the Korean players were given a short three-day rest period and chose rest over stadium inspection. Instead, team coaches visited the stadium to check the field conditions and movement routes. How quickly the team adapts to the unfamiliar stadium is expected to be a key factor in the outcome.