*This content was translated by AI.
The final A-group match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North, Central America and the Caribbean against South Africa is not just about whether the South Korean national football team will advance to the 32nd round. The opposing team, South Africa, is also calculating its "scenarios" ahead of the match against South Korea. Although it is a matchup against the weakest team in the group and a situation favorable for advancing to the 32nd round, there is a reason why complacency is forbidden.
South African media Africa Foot analyzed the best and worst-case scenarios for the South African national football team ahead of the match against South Korea on the 22nd (Korea time). The match between South Korea and South Africa will be held at 10 a.m. on the 25th at Monterrey Stadium in Mexico. South Korea is in second place with 3 points (1 win, 1 loss), while South Africa is in last place with 1 point (1 draw, 1 loss). At the same time, a match between first-place Mexico (6 points) and third-place Czech Republic (1 point) will take place. Mexico has already secured advancement to the 32nd round and even clinched first place in the group.
The media viewed South Africa's victory over South Korea and Czech Republic's defeat against Mexico as the "best-case scenario." In this case, South Africa would record 4 points, surpassing South Korea (3 points) and Czech Republic (1 point) to finish second in the group and advance directly to the 32nd round. Even if Czech Republic defeats Mexico, if South Africa and Czech Republic end up tied with 4 points and South Africa falls to third place due to inferior goal difference, the media believes that 4 points still make advancement to the 32nd round highly likely. Both scenarios ultimately hinge on the condition of "victory against South Korea."
Conversely, the media viewed the scenario where South Korea fails to defeat South Africa as the "worst-case scenario." Even if the match against South Korea ends in a draw, South Africa would only have 2 points. Even if Czech Republic loses to Mexico at the same time and rises to third place in the group, it would be virtually impossible for South Africa to rank among the top 8 third-place teams when compared with other third-place teams across groups with only 2 points.
The media stated, "South Africa's goal for the final match is clear: to defeat South Korea." It added, "If South Africa defeats South Korea, it will secure advancement to the 32nd round as the second-place team in Group A, while South Korea may be pushed to third place and anxiously have to monitor the situations in other groups. Even if Czech Republic defeats Mexico and South Africa and Czech Republic end up tied with 4 points, having 4 points would be sufficient for advancement to the 32nd round even as the third-place team. Conversely, if South Africa fails to defeat South Korea, South Africa will be forced to return home."
Conversely, the scenarios for South Korea, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, to advance to the 32nd round are "a draw or better against South Africa." Even a draw would allow South Korea to finish second in the group and advance to the 32nd round. Even if South Korea ties with Mexico in points, advancement to first place in the group is impossible due to the head-to-head priority rule. Similarly, even if South Korea ties with Czech Republic in points, South Korea would still rank higher than Czech Republic. If South Korea loses to South Africa and Czech Republic defeats Mexico at the same time, Hong Myung-bo's team would plummet to last place in the group and be eliminated. In this tournament, the top two teams from each group and the top 8 third-place teams among the 12th groups based on performance will advance to the 32nd round tournament. South Korea is ranked 25th in the FIFA rankings, while South Africa is ranked 60th.
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*This content was translated by AI.
