South Korea posts worst World Cup finish

"34th."

South Korea's national football team, coached by Hong Myung-bo, finished with the worst World Cup result in the country's history. When the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup ended June 28, South Korea ranked 10th among the 12 third-place teams, missing one of the eight remaining places in the round of 32.

A 1-0 loss to South Africa in its final Group A match on June 25 left South Korea third in the group with three points from one win and two defeats. The team needed favorable results elsewhere to stay alive, but those hopes ended three days later when the final third-place standings were confirmed. It was South Korea's first group-stage exit since the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The target going into the tournament was clear: reach the quarterfinals for the first time. With the World Cup expanded from 32 to 48 teams, advancing from the group stage looked far more achievable because some third-place teams could also progress. The draw appeared to work in South Korea's favor, pairing it with Mexico, the Czech Republic and South Africa in what was widely seen as one of the more favorable groups. The squad also arrived at full strength, with Europe-based stars Son Heung-min of LAFC, Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain and Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich all available.

Preparation left little to chance. To adjust to the altitude in Guadalajara, Mexico, where its opening two matches were scheduled, the team spent three weeks training near Salt Lake City, Utah, at a similar elevation before the tournament. Its base camp in Guadalajara was also located just minutes from the stadium to minimize travel.

The planning made little difference. South Korea opened with a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic on June 12 before losing 1-0 to Mexico a week later. A draw against South Africa in the final group match would have been enough to send the team into the round of 32 as the group runner-up. Instead, South Korea produced one of its poorest World Cup performances and fell 1-0.

The 34th-place finish was the lowest in South Korea's World Cup history, surpassing its previous worst ranking of 30th at the 1998 tournament in France, where it recorded one draw and two losses. South Korea finished last at its World Cup debut in Switzerland in 1954 after losing both matches and posting a minus-16 goal difference, although only 16 teams competed in the tournament.

Hong, who resigned after South Korea's group-stage exit at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and returned 12 years later hoping to redeem himself, now appears certain to step down regardless of how much time remains on his contract.

President Lee Jae-myung criticized the failed campaign in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on June 28, saying the team's failure to reach the round of 32 reflected shortcomings in leadership and personnel.

"Taxpayer money and substantial national resources are invested in the World Cup campaign," Lee wrote. "I ask the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to thoroughly determine what went wrong, identify the causes and put forward measures to prevent this from happening again."


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com