South Korea's Round of 32 Hopes Face Setback as Ecuador Upsets Germany

The South Korean national football team, which finished third in Group A, has slipped further down in the competition for a spot in the Round of 32.
This comes as Ecuador pulled off a thrilling, unexpected comeback victory against the "German Tank" (Germany), securing a better record than South Korea to finish third in Group E.
Ecuador defeated Germany 2-1 in their final Group E match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, held at the New York/New Jersey Stadium on June 26 (KST).
With this result, Ecuador finished the group stage with one win, one draw, and one loss, accumulating 4 points (goal difference of 0) to take third place in Group E.
As of today, Ecuador has moved to the top spot among the third-place teams across the 12 groups.
On the other hand, South Korea, which finished with one win and two losses (2 goals scored, 3 conceded) for 3 points (goal difference of -1) in Group A, has dropped to 5th place in the race for the Round of 32—which is granted to the top 8 third-place teams across all groups—leaving them in a position where they must anxiously await the results of other groups.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.