Hong Myung-bo's team, which defeated Czechia, sees its FIFA ranking 'explode'... soaring by more than 20 points and jumping three spots.

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean national football team, which defeated Czechia in the first match of the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup CONCACAF qualifiers, also achieved a significant result in the real-time FIFA ranking.

According to the real-time FIFA ranking published on the FIFA website on the 12th (Korea time), South Korea accumulated a whopping 20.92 points with its victory over Czechia, bringing its FIFA ranking points to 1612.55.

As a result, South Korea's real-time ranking, which was 25th in the June FIFA ranking released the previous day, immediately jumped three spots to 22nd.

While still ranking third in Asia behind Japan (18th) and Iran (20th), South Korea has significantly narrowed the gap with the two teams, which had moved up seven and five spots, respectively.

South Korea had accumulated 1.98 FIFA ranking points with its victory in a friendly match against El Salvador on the 4th, but this victory over Czechia allowed it to gain more than ten times the points from the El Salvador match all at once.

This is because the fluctuation in FIFA ranking points based on results varies greatly depending on the two teams' rankings (points) and the 'tournament weighting factor.'

In particular, the World Cup is the tournament with the highest weighting factor reflected in the FIFA ranking. Even against the same opponent with the same result, the points gained from a victory in a friendly match can differ from those gained from a victory in the World Cup.

For example, if South Korea had defeated Czechia in a friendly match during the FIFA A-match period, it would have only earned 4.18 points, but this time, by winning in the World Cup, the point increase rose to 20.92.

Naturally, the real-time FIFA ranking during the World Cup is expected to see a true 'turmoil.' This is because matches are held almost every day, and as it is the World Cup, the fluctuation in FIFA ranking points based on the result of each match is large. Moreover, FIFA has recently begun releasing not only its periodically published rankings but also a new 'real-time ranking.'

Of course, the fact that the point increase from a victory is much larger compared to a friendly match means that the points lost in the event of a draw or defeat are also correspondingly large. In fact, Czechia, which lost to South Korea, lost 20.92 points and saw its ranking plummet from 40th to 43rd.

Mexico, also in the same group as South Korea, accumulated 13.5 points with its victory over South Africa, moving up one spot to 13th, while South Africa, conversely, dropped from 60th to 61st. Hong Myung-bo's team, which rose three spots with its victory over Czechia, could also see its ranking drop significantly depending on the results of the remaining two group stage matches.

Hong Myung-bo's team will play its second group stage match against Mexico at 10 a.m. on the 19th in Guadalajara, Mexico, and will face South Africa in the final group stage match at 10 a.m. on the 25th in Monterrey, Mexico. The top two teams from each group, along with the top eight third-placed teams among the 12th groups based on their records, will advance to the round of 16.

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*This content was translated by AI.