South Korea's Son Heung-min and teammates react after their 0-1 defeat against South Africa in the Group A third-round match of the 2026 North America World Cup at Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, Mexico, on Wednesday (local time). [Yonhap]
South Korea's Son Heung-min and teammates react after their 0-1 defeat against South Africa in the Group A third-round match of the 2026 North America World Cup at Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, Mexico, on Wednesday (local time). [Yonhap]

South Korea fell three places to 28th in the FIFA world rankings after losing 0-1 to South Africa in their third Group A match at the 2026 North America World Cup.

According to FIFA on Thursday, South Korea now holds 1,558.72 points. The defeat cost the team 33.03 points, dropping it behind Norway (22nd), Austria (23rd), Nigeria (24th), Australia (25th), Egypt (26th) and Algeria (27th).

Norway, which secured two wins over Iraq and Senegal in Group I, climbed nine spots, while Austria and several other nations also moved up the rankings.

South Korea had entered the tournament ranked 25th. After beating Czech Republic in their opening match, the team rose to 22nd, then climbed further to 21st following a drop in Iran's ranking. Consecutive losses to Mexico and South Africa — costing 20.80 and 33.03 points respectively — sent the team sliding down the table.

[FIFA]
[FIFA]

South Africa drew against Czech Republic in their second match, then beat South Korea to earn 33.03 points, bringing their total to 1,451.24 and lifting them six places to 54th.

Japan drew 2-2 with the Netherlands and routed Tunisia 4-0, rising two spots to 16th with 1,681.26 points — the highest-ranked Asian nation in the standings.

South Africa finished the group stage with one win, one draw and one loss for four points, moving up to second place in Group A. South Korea dropped to third with one win and two losses.

South Korea needed only a draw to secure automatic qualification for the round of 32, but the loss means the team must now wait on results from other groups and hope to finish among the top eight third-place sides.

Host nation Mexico swept through the group stage with three straight wins to finish top of Group A and advance directly to the round of 32. South Korea, meanwhile, sits third after the defeat to South Africa and will need to compete for a wild-card berth.


ygmoon@heraldcorp.com