South Korea's football team faces a 'true cliff-edge'! Iran's draw pushes them to 8th place, the 'final line' for the Round of 32 → Only 3 groups remain

*This content was translated by AI.

It is truly a 'cliff-edge' situation.

The South Korean national football team, challenging for a spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean Round of 32, has been pushed to the brink of elimination. Under coach Hong Myung-bo, South Korea saw its position drop to 8th place, the 'final line,' after Egypt and Iran drew in their Group G third match of the group stage held on the 27th (Korean time) at Seattle Stadium in the United States.

Previously, following a defeat to South Africa, South Korea fell to third place in Group A with 3 points (goal difference –1, 2 goals scored) and is competing for one of the eight best third-place teams among the 12th groups to advance to the Round of 32. However, with Iran drawing 1-1 against Egypt today, Iran finished the group stage in third place in Group G with 3 points and a goal difference of 0. South Korea was then overtaken by Iran in the goal difference tiebreaker among third-place teams.

As a result, South Korea's ranking has dropped to 8th among the 12 third-place teams, behind Sweden, Ecuador, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Paraguay (all with 4 points), Senegal (goal difference +2), Iran (goal difference 0), and Croatia (goal difference –1, all with 3 points). Among these, Croatia (Group L), which is one rank ahead of South Korea, has not yet played its final match.

Not only Croatia, but also Algeria (9th place, 3 points, goal difference –2) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12th place, 1 point, goal difference –1), both in the middle of the third-place rankings, still have their final group stage matches remaining. Among the third-place teams that have completed all group stage matches, only Uruguay (2 points) has been definitively eliminated.

With South Korea pushed down to 8th place, there is no room to retreat. If the results of the two teams among the third-place teams in the remaining Group L, Group K, and Group J matches on the 28th are better than South Korea's, South Korea will be pushed out of 8th place and elimination will be confirmed. Conversely, for South Korea to narrowly advance to the Round of 32, surpassing four teams including Scotland and Uruguay in the third-place rankings, the results of the two teams among the remaining three third-place teams must be worse than South Korea's.

In Group L, Croatia will automatically finish ahead of South Korea if they draw against Ghana. In Group K, a victory by the Democratic Republic of the Congo against Uzbekistan, which offers a clear path to the Round of 32 if they win, will become an obstacle. In Group J, a draw between Austria and Algeria, or a one-goal victory for Algeria against Austria, will block South Korea's path to the Round of 32. These are conditions that each have a significant likelihood of occurring. Consequently, South Korea's chances of reaching the Round of 32 are becoming increasingly slim.

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*This content was translated by AI.