South Korea's national football team, eliminated in the 2026 North America World Cup group stage with a 34th-place ranking, received an even harsher assessment in a post-tournament power ranking.
The Athletic published an updated power ranking Tuesday based on match results from the 2026 North America World Cup, including teams already eliminated from the competition.
South Korea placed 38th out of 48 nations — four spots lower than its 34th-place group-stage exit ranking.
The Athletic noted that South Korea started the tournament promisingly with a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic but then suffered back-to-back scoreless defeats against Mexico and South Africa.
Finishing with three points and a goal difference of minus-1, South Korea failed to advance even among the third-place finishers in its group.
The outlet described the result as a step backward from the 2022 Qatar World Cup, where South Korea reached the round of 16 by finishing ahead of Uruguay and Ghana.
Captain Son Heung-min's limited impact on matches — including being dropped from the starting lineup in the final group game — was also cited as a factor in the low ranking.
South Korea ranked below some nations that had been eliminated in fourth place in their groups.
The team placed lower than Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, both of whom managed only two draws and a loss, and also fell behind the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Africa and Ghana — countries widely considered weaker on paper than South Korea.
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