South Korea climb to FIFA ranking 22 after comeback win over Czech Republic

South Korea's FIFA ranking rose from 25th to 22nd after the national team's comeback victory over the Czech Republic in the opening Group A match of the 2026 World Cup.

Coach Hong Myung-bo's side defeated the Czech Republic 2-1 on June 12 at Guadalajara Stadium in Zapopan, near Guadalajara, Mexico.

South Korea conceded first when Ladislav Krejci (Wolverhampton) scored in the 59th minute, but Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) equalized eight minutes later. Oh Hyeon-gyu (Besiktas), who came on as a substitute for Son Heung-min (Los Angeles FC), then scored the winner in the 80th minute to give the team its first victory of the tournament.

It was South Korea's first win in a World Cup group-stage opener in 16 years, since the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

The result fed directly into the FIFA ranking update. Since April, FIFA has been updating rankings and points in real time to reflect international match results.

South Korea had beaten Trinidad and Tobago (5-0) and El Salvador (1-0) before the World Cup, but those wins yielded little ranking movement because the opponents ranked low and the matches were friendlies. The Czech Republic match, being a World Cup fixture, earned South Korea an additional 20.92 points, bringing their total to 1,612.55 and pushing them up the standings.

The Czech Republic, who lost to South Korea, dropped three places from 40th to 43rd.

South Korea's all-time best FIFA ranking is 17th, achieved in December 1998. A win over 13th-ranked Mexico on June 19 could push the team even higher up the rankings.