"Because of Korea, we are eliminated"... Scotland on high alert after shock defeat to Hong Myung-bo's team, jeopardizing "World Cup in 28 years"

*This content was translated by AI.

The shock defeat of the South Korean national football team dealt a fatal blow to Scotland as well. Although they stepped onto the World Cup finals stage for the first time in 28 years, the unexpected loss by South Korea has placed them in a more disadvantageous position in the race for the Round of 32.

The Irish Times reported on the 25th (Korea time), "The worst-case scenarios that could happen to the Scottish national team, led by manager Steve Clarke, have come to reality. As a result, the slim hope for Scotland's first-ever World Cup tournament appearance is now in crisis."

It continued, "Scottish football fans now have to pull out their calculators to understand FIFA's new regulations and possible scenarios. Scotland must now wait and see how their fate unfolds while other teams play their final group stage matches. The goal scored by John McGinn (Aston Villa) in the first match may not be enough to send Scotland to the Round of 32."

In this tournament, Scotland was grouped in Group C with Brazil, Morocco, and Haiti. It was a difficult group containing strong teams like Brazil and Morocco. Scotland finished the group stage in third place with one win and two losses (3 points).

Starting from this tournament, the number of participating countries in the World Cup has increased from 32 to 48. Accordingly, the top two teams from each of the 12th groups, along with the eight best-performing third-placed teams among the 12 third-placed teams, will join the Round of 32. Scotland still has a chance. However, it is true that they are at a disadvantage in the race for third place. Scotland managed only one win in three matches, recording one goal scored and four goals conceded, resulting in a goal difference of -3.

Most painfully, Scotland suffered a crushing 0-3 defeat against Brazil in the final Group C match held at Miami Stadium in Miami, USA, on this day. This loss eliminated any possibility of advancing directly to second place in the group. Still, given the gap in team strength, it was an acceptable result. There remained hope that they could reach the Round of 32 as one of the top eight third-placed teams.

However, that hope was severely shaken when South Korea suffered a shock defeat against South Africa in the final Group A match of the 2026 FIFA CONCACAF World Cup on this day.

South Korea had secured a 2-1 comeback victory against Czech Republic in the first match, then lost 0-1 to host nation Mexico in the second match. Even so, a draw against South Africa in the third match would have been enough to finish second in Group A and advance directly to the Round of 32. However, losing 0-1 to South Africa resulted in one win and two losses (3 points), finishing third in Group A. Meanwhile, South Africa, with one win, one draw, and one loss (4 points), secured second place in Group A, achieving their first-ever World Cup tournament appearance. Mexico, with three consecutive wins, topped Group A.

In the race for third place, South Korea is ahead of Scotland. Even with the same 3 points, South Korea's goal difference is -1, while Scotland's is -3. Objectively, the best scenario for Scotland would have been for South Korea to defeat South Africa and take second place in the group, while South Africa remained with just one point. At the same time, Czech Republic also lost 0-3 to Mexico, finishing with one draw and two losses (1 point), making South Korea's defeat even more painful for Scotland.

The media stated, "Scotland's realistic hope was for both South Korea and Mexico to win in the final Group A matches. Mexico did its part by sending Czech Republic home. However, South Africa created a huge upset against South Korea, complicating the situation. As a result, South Africa unexpectedly rose to second place in the group, while Son Heung-min (LAFC)'s South Korea fell to third place in the group. This was disastrous news for Scotland."

Currently, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in third place in Group B, also finished the group stage with one win, one draw, and one loss (4 points), achieving a better result than Scotland. Scotland is currently positioned around seventh among the 12 third-placed teams, but there are still nine groups left to play their final matches. It appears difficult for Scotland to actually secure a spot among the top eight third-placed teams.

The media added, "Although the final group stage matches of nine groups have not yet concluded, South Korea, with 3 points and a goal difference of -1, will inevitably rank higher than Scotland. The Scottish national team has returned from Miami to their base camp in North Carolina. However, their situation is barely alive, even if only formally. Once the six final group stage matches on the 26th are completed, elimination may be confirmed. For Scotland to survive, at least four other third-placed teams must record worse results."

The media further noted, "There is a very high probability that Scotland will be pushed out of the top eight third-placed teams. Other teams are aware of the conditions required for Round of 32 qualification and will play accordingly. Unless there is a miracle or results that seem like collusion, the chances are slim. Scotland's fate will be decided on Sunday, but realistically, they may need to book flight tickets to the airport by Friday night."

The British The Sun also showed a similar reaction. The media reported, "This is a nightmare result for Scotland. Hope for the World Cup is barely continuing. Scotland suffered another huge blow as South Africa defeated South Korea 1-0."

It continued, "With this shocking result, South Africa surpassed South Korea and moved to second place in Group A behind first-place Mexico. South Africa has secured a spot in the Round of 32. Due to the result of the South Korea-South Africa match, the Scottish national team has dropped to seventh in the ranking of third-placed teams. In this tournament, the top eight third-placed teams from each group will advance to the Round of 32 after the group stage ends."

Scotland returned to the world stage after a long absence through this tournament. After breaking through fierce European qualifiers, they stepped onto the finals stage for the first time since the 1998 France World Cup, 28 years later. Until this tournament, Scotland's last victory in the World Cup finals was a 2-1 win against Sweden in the 1990 Italy World Cup. However, by defeating Haiti 1-0 in the first match, they tasted a World Cup finals victory for the first time in 36 years.

Scotland has never passed the group stage in their eight previous World Cup appearances. They also carry the dishonor of being the team with the most group stage exits in World Cup history. Although the first-match victory seemed to break the curse for this tournament, the heavy defeat against Brazil combined with the unexpected loss by South Korea once again put them in danger of failing to reach the tournament stage.

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*This content was translated by AI.