ESPN gives South Korea a 'D-' at World Cup: 'Drew a favorable bracket, lost to the weakest team'

ESPN has given South Korea a grade of D- for its group-stage exit at the 2026 North America World Cup — narrowly avoiding the F handed to Qatar, Uruguay, Turkey and Tunisia, but amounting to near-failure given the expectations heading into the tournament.

On June 28 (local time), ESPN graded each team eliminated in the group stage, evaluating them on pre-tournament expectations, actual performance and other contributing factors.

On South Korea, ESPN wrote that heading into the third match, the team "was on the verge of securing what amounted to a home game in the round of 32" — only to fall short against the weakest side in the group despite a favorable draw.

"All they needed to do was beat South Africa, who looked like one of the worst teams in the tournament," ESPN wrote. "But Hong Myung-bo benched Son Heung-min, and South Korea were outplayed and lost 1-0."

ESPN cited South Korea's performance against the Czech Republic and a pivotal moment in the Mexico match as reasons for avoiding an outright F. The outlet noted that without what it called one of the tournament's best saves, South Korea could have equalized against Mexico — meaning at least one result could have gone differently.

In the same assessment, Iran drew attention by earning an A. ESPN praised the team for going unbeaten in three matches despite significant organizational disadvantages — including the ongoing war with the United States as host nation, the suspension of its domestic league, and orders to return to Mexico immediately after each game.

Uruguay, which received an F despite entering the tournament ranked 13th in the world, managed only two shots in 45 minutes after falling behind 1-0 to Spain. Qatar was described as "the worst team in World Cup history" after conceding 10 goals and allowing 72 shots.

South Korea finished the tournament in Group A with one win and two losses — beating the Czech Republic 2-1 before falling to Mexico and South Africa by identical 1-0 scorelines — ending in 34th place overall. Hong Myung-bo has since officially announced his resignation as head coach.