NPR

The Science Behind South Korea's Race-Based World Cup Strategy

South Korea's men's soccer team tried to confuse scouts from Sweden's team by swapping jerseys so their opponent couldn't tell the players apart. But could a strategy like that actually work?
The South Korean soccer team poses for a photo prior to the 2018 FIFA World Cup match against Sweden at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on June 18, 2018 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.

Whenever you bring together dozens of different countries from around the globe, there's bound be some cross-cultural confusion. The World Cup is no exception.

And if you're Shin Tae-yong, coach of the South Korean national team, you figure out how to work that confusion to your advantage. In a press conference Sunday, Shin explained the unusual tactic he'd employed against scouts from the Swedish team: He'd had his team members swap jersey

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