What had been a favorable position — a draw would have been enough to advance directly to the round of 32 — turned into the worst possible outcome. South Korea rested a large number of starters in a rotation gamble and paid the price, falling to the lowest-ranked team in the group and sliding to third place.
South Korea, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, lost 0-1 to South Africa on Thursday in their final Group A match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, Mexico, unable to recover after conceding in the second half.
South Korea finished the group stage with one win and two losses — three points and a goal difference of minus-one — and surrendered second place to South Africa, who finished with one win, one draw and one loss for four points. South Korea's hopes of a direct berth in the round of 32 are now over; they must compete in a precarious wild-card race as one of the third-place finishers, needing to rank among the top eight such teams across all groups.
shee@heraldcorp.com
