The South Korean national football team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, has failed to advance to the round of 32 at the 2026 North/Central America World Cup. After finishing the group stage, the team clung to a sliver of hope depending on other groups' results, but victories by Croatia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo eliminated all remaining scenarios.

South Korea had to wait for the result of the match between Ghana and Uzbekistan to stay above the round of 32 cutoff line in the ranking among third-placed teams. For South Korea's hopes to remain alive, Ghana needed to beat Croatia, and Uzbekistan needed to defeat or at least draw with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

However, the results did not go South Korea's way. Croatia defeated Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo came from behind to beat Uzbekistan 3-1, pushing South Korea out of the round of 32 qualification.

With this tournament expanded to a 48-team format, not only the top two teams from each group but also the top eight of the 12 third-placed teams advance to the round of 32. South Korea had to rely on scenarios after the group stage concluded, but the final variables — the results of Groups K and L — turned out unfavorably, confirming their elimination.

Previously, South Korea failed to get the desired results from Groups D, E, F, G, and I. In Group H, Spain defeated Uruguay, producing the only favorable scenario, but this alone was not enough to secure a round of 32 berth.

This is the first time in eight years, since the 2018 tournament in Russia, that South Korean football has failed to advance past the World Cup group stage. The national team sought to reach the knockout stage on foreign soil for the third time overall, following the 2010 tournament in South Africa and the 2022 tournament in Qatar, and to reach the round of 16 away from home for the second consecutive time, but fell short.

Hong Myung-bo's side began with a victory over the Czech Republic but suffered consecutive defeats to Mexico and South Africa, pushing themselves into a situation where they could not determine their own fate. Ultimately, South Korea had no choice but to depend on other groups' match results, and with the last remaining scenario falling through, their North/Central America World Cup journey came to an end at the group stage.

[This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify match results and official rankings based on FIFA's official announcements.]