The South Korea national football team faces South Africa in a crucial match to reach the World Cup 2026 knockout stage. With a win or draw, Hong Myung-bo's team can secure a spot in the round of 32. Recently, Korea lost 0-1 to Mexico and is currently in second place in the group. South Africa, ranked 60th in the FIFA rankings, has shown good performance in their last two games. Hong Myung-bo evaluated South Africa's two games, saying their speed and threat in transitioning from defense to offense were very fast. Korea can advance to the round of 32 with a win or draw against South Africa. However, if Korea loses to South Africa, the situation may become complicated. In this case, Korea may be pushed down to third place in the group, behind Mexico and South Africa. The result of the Czech Republic's match against Mexico will also be crucial. If the Czech Republic wins, Korea will be eliminated from the tournament. If the Czech Republic does not win, Korea will have a chance to advance to the round of 32. According to football statistics media Opta, despite Korea's loss to Mexico, the team's chances of advancing to the round of 32 are over 89%. Another statistics media, Football Metrics Data, predicted Korea's chances of finishing second in the group at 77.3%, and third and fourth place at 18.2% and 4.4%, respectively. As the possibility of finishing second in the group increases, the opponent for the round of 32 is also becoming clearer. According to the tournament schedule, the second-place team in Group A, where Korea is located, will face the second-place team in Group B in the round of 32. The competition for second place in Group B is narrowing down to a battle between co-hosts Canada and Switzerland. Canada and Switzerland are currently in first and second place with four points each. The goal difference is +6 for Canada and +3 for Switzerland. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar are tied for third place with one point each. The goal difference is -3 for Bosnia and -6 for Qatar. Coincidentally, on the 26th, the final match will feature Switzerland vs. Canada and Bosnia vs. Qatar. The team that loses in the Canada-Switzerland match is likely to finish second in the group. In the event of a draw, Switzerland will finish second due to a lower goal difference. However, it is also possible that the team that loses in the Canada-Switzerland match could be tied with the winner of the Bosnia-Qatar match. But Bosnia would have to overcome a nine-goal difference in goal difference to catch up with Switzerland. On the other hand, Qatar would have to overcome a nine-goal difference in goal difference to catch up with Canada. As a result, Football Metrics Data predicted the probability of a Korea-Switzerland match in the round of 32 at 43.8% and a Korea-Canada match at 31.5%. Canada's FIFA ranking is 30th, which is lower than Korea's, and Switzerland's ranking is 19th, which is not much different from Korea's. This could make for a relatively easy tournament matchup for Hong Myung-bo's team. However, this scenario can only be considered if Korea wins or draws against South Africa.