▲ South Korean national football team players look dejected after losing to South Africa in their 2026 North and Central America World Cup Group A third match at Monterrey Stadium in Mexico on June 24 (local time).
The South Korean national football team has suffered a shocking defeat to South Africa, dropping to third place in the group and failing to secure an automatic spot in the Round of 32 of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.
The South Korean team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, lost 1-0 to South Africa in their final Group A match held at Monterrey Stadium in Guadalupe, Mexico, on June 25.
After a 2-1 comeback victory against the Czech Republic in the first match and a 0-1 loss to host nation Mexico in the second, Hong's team finished with 1 win and 2 losses, ending with 3 points. They dropped to third in the group, behind group winner Mexico (9 points, 3 wins) and second-place South Africa (4 points, 1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss).
Starting with this tournament, the number of World Cup participating nations has increased to 48, meaning the knockout stage now begins with the Round of 32. The eight best third-place teams out of the 12 groups will also advance to the knockout stage.
However, South Korea's advancement to the Round of 32 remains uncertain.
Hong's team must now wait for the results of other groups.
If Mexico had lost to the Czech Republic in the other Group A match that kicked off at the same time at Mexico City Stadium, South Korea would have fallen to fourth place in the group and been eliminated.
It is a situation where Mexico, which dramatically advanced to the Round of 16 after South Korea's surprise victory over Germany in the final group match of the 2018 Russia World Cup, has returned the favor eight years later.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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