South Korea's FIFA ranking drops to 31st, lowest in nearly 4 years

South Korea's FIFA ranking has fallen out of the top 30 for the first time in nearly four years after the national football team failed to advance from the group stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

According to the FIFA website on Sunday, South Korea stood at 31st in the rankings as of June 26.

FIFA has been updating its rankings in real time based on international match results since April, with World Cup group-stage matches carrying significantly more weight than friendlies or qualifying games.

South Korea entered the tournament ranked 25th, then climbed to 22nd after beating the Czech Republic in its Group A opener on June 12, earning 20.29 points to bring its total to 1,612.55.

Back-to-back defeats to Mexico and South Africa cost the team 53.83 points, dropping its total to 1,558.72 and sending the ranking down six places.

The last time South Korea ranked outside the top 30 was in December 2021, when it sat at 33rd.

South Korea had ranked 57th at the 2018 Russia World Cup but climbed to 25th following the 2022 Qatar World Cup under then-coach Paulo Bento.

The team held a ranking within the top 25 even as Jurgen Klinsmann and then Hong Myung-bo took over after Bento's contract was not renewed, despite inconsistent performances.

The group-stage exit at this World Cup, however, has pushed the team outside the top 20.

Meanwhile, Argentina leads the global rankings, followed by France in second and Spain in third.

Japan tops Asia at 17th, up one spot from 18th before the tournament began.

Iran (21st) and Australia (28th) both rank ahead of South Korea.

Football commentator Park Moon-sung sharply criticized coach Hong Myung-bo after South Korea's group-stage exit, calling it the worst World Cup performance despite the team fielding what he described as the greatest squad in the country's history, featuring Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae.