Belgium Wins, Iran Draws: South Korea Drops to 8th in Race for Round of 32

Following Belgium's victory over New Zealand and Iran's draw with Egypt at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, South Korea has slipped to 8th place in the competition among third-placed teams vying for a spot in the Round of 32.
In the Group G match held at BC Place in Vancouver, Canada, Belgium defeated New Zealand 5-1, fueled by a brace from Leandro Trossard and consecutive goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and Alexis Saelemaekers.
At the same time, Egypt and Iran played to a 1-1 draw at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.
With these results, Belgium (6 goals scored, 2 conceded) and Egypt (5 goals scored, 3 conceded) both finished with 1 win and 2 draws, securing 5 points and advancing to the Round of 32. Belgium took first place in the group on goal difference.
The two teams drew 1-1 in their head-to-head match earlier in the tournament.
This marks the first time in World Cup history that Egypt has advanced past the group stage.
Iran, finishing with 3 draws (3 points, 3 goals scored, 3 conceded), now sits in 3rd place and must wait to see if they qualify for the Round of 32, while New Zealand (1 draw, 2 losses) has been eliminated.
As Iran secured 3rd place in Group G, South Korea, currently 3rd in Group A, has dropped to 8th place in the rankings among third-placed teams across all groups.
Directly ahead of South Korea in 7th place is Croatia from Group L, which has yet to play its third match.
In this tournament, which features 48 nations, the top two teams from each of the 12 groups, along with the eight best third-placed teams, advance to the Round of 32.
For South Korea to reach the Round of 32, the team now faces a desperate situation where they must rely on the third-placed teams in at least two of the remaining groups—J, K, and L—to finish with records inferior to South Korea's when those final matches conclude tomorrow.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.