A chorus of Korean, Spanish and English filled the air at South Field on the BYU campus in Provo as fans from around the world filled the stands for the final match of the World Cup friendlies between South Korea and El Salvador.
South Korea ended up earning a hard-fought 1-0 victory.
Walking up and down the field and interacting with fans was BYU's athletic director, Brian Santiago. Taking in the scene, Santiago expressed his excitement for the opportunity to host the international teams.
“As you know the world is our campus,” Santiago said, “and the thought that we have two World Cup teams coming to play on our campus, in this incredible venue, it brings a lot of positive light not only to these two great nations, but to BYU.
“We try to open our arms to everyone and it's our privilege to host this match here.”
Out to support both Son Heung-Min of South Korea and Nathan Ordaz of El Salvador was Paul Apodaca, the head of team security for the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC), where both Son and Ordaz play professionally.
“It’s a big-time moment for them,” he said. “This is what they’ve done their entire career and for one of our players this is his fourth World Cup coming up.”
Despite most of his time being spent in professional football stadiums around the country, Apodaca enjoyed what South Field had to offer.
“I think it's great. The fans are right on top of the players so it's pretty cool,” Apodaca said.
Those same fans, layered in country flags and team apparel, filled the stands as the sun sank lower in the sky. Waiting in anticipation, most took to taking photos and calling out to players, hoping to get their attention.
In the crowd, a bright red jersey contrasted with the royal blue of the El Salvador faithful and a faint jingling could be heard as a pin-laden purse bumped against others as Chae Won, a native of South Korea that currently lives in Los Angeles, California, took in South Field for the first time.
Completing her outfit was a tall headband proclaiming “Son I Love You” showcasing her loyalty to Korean star footballer Son Heung-Min.
“It’s very small,” said Chae, laughing as she described the pitch at South Field. “The LAFC stadium at home is very nice, so it's very different.”
However, said Chae, the change of scenery from the skyline of L.A. to the mountains of Provo has been the highlight of her trip so far.
It was these mountains that stood as the backdrop for the intense match that soon followed.
The match spent most of its time deadlocked at zero. Both South Korea and El Salvador struggled to find the back of the net. After almost an hour of intense competition tempers flared.
A hit from Marcelo Díaz of El Salvador sent South Korea’s Dong-Gyeong Lee tumbling to the ground. Angry shouts rose from the crowd and grew louder still as Hee-Chan Hwang shoved Díaz.
However despite the shoving match, South Korea was awarded with a penalty kick. Lining up his shot, Lee stared down the line of El Salvador players and, unfazed, booted the ball into the top right corner of the net.
Fans in red erupted around the stadium and broke out into cheers and chants.
Later, the stands began to rattle and cheers grew louder and louder, not from a player speeding towards the goal, but for Son Heung-Min as he prepared to enter the game.
After patiently waiting 59 minutes, South Korea fans welcomed their hero to the pitch.
Despite Son’s best efforts, the defensive effort by El Salvador kept him from sneaking in a score. Up 1-0 when he entered the game, Son and his team kept El Salvador from finding an offensive spark.
When the clock hit 90 minutes, the scoreboard remained unchanged and South Korea walked away with a close win over El Salvador.
Fans from both teams cheered and flowed from the stands toward the sidelines, reaching over the dividers to high-five and celebrate with players as they ceremoniously ran around the entire field.
The crowd slowly left South Field. And, in the same way that they had entered, they left their chorus of languages from around the world drifting up into the warm summer night.