South Korean football has been left in limbo even after finishing the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The South Korean national football team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, suffered a 0-1 defeat against South Africa in their final Group A match of the group stage on Thursday (Korean time) at Monterrey Stadium in Guadalupe, Mexico.

Although they got off to a fresh start with a 2-1 comeback victory over Czechia in their opening match, they suffered a 0-1 loss to co-host Mexico before being dealt another blow by South Africa.

With only one win and two losses (2 goals scored, 3 conceded) to finish with 3 points, South Korea slipped to third place in the group behind Mexico, who swept all three matches (9 points), and South Africa (4 points) with one win, one draw, and one loss. As a result, South Korea can no longer advance to the Round of 32 on their own.

In this tournament, where the number of participating nations has expanded from 32 to 48, the teams are divided into 12 groups of four. After the group stage, the top two teams from each group (24 teams) along with the eight best third-placed teams will advance to the 32-team knockout stage to compete for the championship.

Hong Myung-bo's squad must now wait and see the results of other groups to determine if they will advance to the Round of 32.

Even this slim hope was only possible thanks to Mexico.

Because Mexico defeated Czechia 3-0 at Mexico City Stadium at the same time South Korea was playing South Africa, South Korea kept alive their chance to sneak into the Round of 32 as a third-placed team.

Had Czechia beaten Mexico to finish with one win, one draw, and one loss, South Korea would have plummeted to fourth place in the group and been sent packing immediately.

During the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Mexico dramatically advanced to the Round of 16 after South Korea pulled off a stunning 2-0 victory over Germany in their final group match. Eight years later, it appears Mexico has returned the favor.

Now, Hong's squad has no choice but to wait.

As of Thursday, South Korea ranks fourth among the third-placed teams across the 12 groups.

However, only three groups—Groups A to C—have completed all of their group stage matches.

Among them, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the third-placed team in Group B (1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss), sits above South Korea with 4 points.

However, South Korea is ahead of Scotland, the third-placed team in Group C (1 win, 2 losses, 1 goal scored, 4 conceded), on goal difference despite having the same number of points.

Now, if South Korea can maintain an advantage over at least three of the third-placed teams from the remaining nine groups, they will secure a spot in the Round of 32.

Currently, in Groups D to L, which still have their final group matches left to play, there are already four teams that have accumulated 3 points.

Paraguay in Group D, Sweden in Group F, Algeria in Group J, and Croatia in Group L have each earned 3 points with a record of one win and one loss.

Belgium in Group G and Cape Verde in Group H follow closely behind with 2 points each from two draws.

Even Senegal in Group I, which has yet to earn a single point after two consecutive losses, could still aim for the Round of 32 as a third-placed team if they win their final match against Iraq.

When third-placed teams are tied on points, the tiebreakers are determined in the order of goal difference, goals scored, fair play points, and FIFA ranking.

Even if South Korea reaches the Round of 32, they are highly likely to face a rocky road ahead due to their third-place finish.

They will have to face either Germany, who has already secured first place in Group E, in Boston, USA, on June 30, or the winner of Group G (comprising Belgium, Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand) in Seattle, USA, on July 2.

(Photo: Yonhap News)