"Australia too..." South Korea's football team on high alert; no one helped today... 0-0 draw with Paraguay

*This content was translated by AI.

South Korea's path to the Round of 32 has become even more difficult.

On the 26th (Korea time), Australia drew 0-0 with Paraguay in the final Group D match of the 2026 FIFA North, Central America and Caribbean Cup group stage at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area, United States. The other Group D match between the United States and Turkey, played at the same time, also ended in a 2-2 draw.

As a result, the Group D standings were fully determined. Host nation the United States secured first place in the group with two wins and one draw (7 points), while Australia recorded one win, one draw, and one loss (4 points, goal difference 0), finishing second in the group and advancing to the Round of 32. The United States will face Bosnia and Herzegovina, third in Group B, in the Round of 32 at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on the 2nd of next month. Australia will face the second-place team from Group G in the Round of 32 on the 4th of next month.

Paraguay finished with one win, one draw, and one loss (4 points, goal difference -2), matching Australia's point total. However, due to a worse goal difference, Paraguay ended the group stage in third place in Group D. Nevertheless, by finishing in the upper tier of third-place teams, they effectively advanced to the Round of 32. Turkey finished last with one draw and two losses (1 point).

This is a quite disappointing result for South Korea. Under head coach Hong Myung-bo, South Korea was drawn into Group A along with Mexico, South Africa, and the Czech Republic. Their group stage record was one win and two losses (3 points, goal difference -1), finishing third in Group A. In this tournament, not only the top two teams from each group but also the eight best-performing third-place teams among the 12 third-place teams can advance to the Round of 32. After failing to qualify on their own, South Korea now has to wait and watch the results of other groups.

The best-case scenario for South Korea was for Australia to defeat Paraguay. In that case, Paraguay would have remained at 3 points, and South Korea could have hoped for a superior goal difference at the same point total. However, the match ended in a 0-0 draw. Paraguay secured 4 points and finished higher than South Korea in third place in the group.

In the standings for third-place teams in the North, Central America and Caribbean Cup, South Korea's position has become even more precarious. The number of third-place teams that have already secured 4 points is increasing. With Paraguay, third in Group D, joining the 4th-point group today, South Korea's position at 3 points has become even narrower.

Earlier matches in Groups E and F also did not help South Korea. In Group E, it would have been favorable for South Korea if both Ecuador and Curaçao failed to win. Curaçao suffered a heavy defeat against Côte d'Ivoire, but Ecuador caused an upset by defeating Germany 2-1. Ecuador secured 4 points and advanced to the Round of 32 as third in Group E.

In Group F, it would have been favorable for South Korea if Japan had defeated Sweden by a margin of two goals or more. However, the result was a 1-1 draw. Sweden also finished with one win, one draw, and one loss (4 points), becoming third in Group F and joining the Round of 32 as a top third-place team. From South Korea's perspective, with Ecuador, Sweden, and now Paraguay all securing 4 points, the situation has become even more difficult.

Earlier, Australia's head coach Tony Popovic deployed a 3-4-2-1 formation. Veteran midfielder Jackson Irvine (St. Pauli), who has been active in Germany, started the match. Paraguay, led by head coach Gustavo Alfaro, countered with a 5-3-2 formation.

The first half was dominated by Australia. Starting with a surprise right-footed shot by Irvine, Australia consistently attacked the right flank. In the 36th minute of the first half, Jordan Bos (Feyenoord) took a left-footed shot from the right side of the penalty box, but it went straight at the goalkeeper. In stoppage time of the first half, Christian Bolfato (Sassuolo) also had his curling left-footed shot blocked by Paraguay's goalkeeper Orlando Hill (San Lorenzo).

From South Korea's perspective, Hill's performance as Paraguay's goalkeeper was even more regrettable. Irvine's header shot in stoppage time of the first half also went over the crossbar. During the first half, Australia recorded six shots, three of which were on target. In contrast, Paraguay managed only one shot, with no shots on target.

In the early second half, there was briefly a favorable trend for South Korea. In the first minute of the second half, Irvine of Australia received a yellow card for a rough tackle near the halfway line. In the competition for third-place positions, if points, goal difference, and goals scored are tied, fair play points can also come into play. If Australia had lost, depending on the score, there was a possibility that South Korea could have overtaken them. However, the crucial goal never came.

Australia brought on Aidin Hrustic (Heracles), and Paraguay introduced Alex Arce (Independiente Rivadavia) to make changes. However, neither team managed to open the opponent's goal. Ultimately, the match ended 0-0. This was the worst possible outcome for South Korea.

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*This content was translated by AI.