ELIMINATEDA3Group A, finished 3rdGROUP A · 3RDBEST 3RD · #10
IN OUR BEST THIRDS RANKING
#34OUR RANK
3PTS
-1GD
2GF
South Korea is out of the 2026 World Cup, eliminated after the group stage.
South Korea could not have started better, beating Czechia 2-1 in their Group A opener. Then the goals dried up: a 0-1 loss to Mexico was followed by a 0-1 defeat to South Africa, and the Taegeuk Warriors finished third on three points.
That left them level with Senegal, the eighth and last qualifying third, but a goal difference of minus one to Senegal's plus two settled it; four more goals across the group would have lifted them into the Round of 32, as the final best third-placed table shows. For a side that won on opening night and lost only by the odd goal twice, the margins could hardly have been finer.
THE BEST-THIRDS CUT · WHERE IT ALL STARTED
3 goals from the Round of 32.
Eight best third-placed teams go through. South Korea finished 10th of the twelve.
Level on points, split by goal difference. 3 goals the other way and it is South Korea in the Round of 32.
PER MATCH · INCL. GROUP STAGE
1.00PTS / match
0.67GF / match
−1.33FAIR / match
Across 3 matches (group stage included), South Korea has averaged 1.00 points and 0.67 goals scored per game, with 1.33 fair-play points lost per game.
This tracker exists for exactly this race. Third in their group, South Korea finished as the 10th-best third-placed team of twelve, outside the top eight that advance.
How hard was South Korea’s road at this World Cup?
Every team’s road through the tournament, on one chart. Each line shows
how hard each stage is. The base is the gap in FIFA world ranking between
the two sides; on top of that, current form (each team’s last three matches, and how
convincingly they were won against how strong an opponent) nudges the step: a hot opponent makes it
taller, a team’s own hot form makes its own steps shorter. Higher means a tougher road. In the group stage the opponents are known, so each match sits at a
fixed height; each knockout round shows the average difficulty across every opponent still left in that round. South Korea’s road is highlighted, along with every team it played. Hover or tap any team to compare, or pick one from the legend.