South Korea receives shocking 46th-place evaluation in North American World Cup
South Korea's national football team was ranked 46th by American sports magazine 'Sports Illustrated (SI)' after failing to advance to the knockout stage of the 2026 North American World Cup with 1 win and 2 losses. Korea defeated Czech Republic but lost consecutively to Mexico and South Africa, finishing third in their group. Current league standing: 3rd, 3 points, 1W-0D-2L, recent form LLW.
SI labels South Korea as 'worst failure of the tournament'
SI criticized Korea's performance, stating, 'The fact that the president publicly demanded a government analysis of the incomprehensible results shows how serious the situation is.' Korea ranked lower than teams that failed to win a single match in the group stage, including Panama (42nd), Iraq (43rd), Uzbekistan (39th), Jordan (37th), and Haiti (36th).
Hong Myung-bo becomes 'public enemy No. 1'
Former manager Hong Myung-bo faced severe backlash from the public after Korea's World Cup elimination, being labeled 'public enemy No. 1.' SI described him as such, highlighting his resignation and the team's poor performance. Korea scored 2 goals but conceded 3, resulting in a -1 goal difference.
Only Uruguay and Tunisia ranked lower than Korea
Only Uruguay (47th) and Tunisia (48th) were ranked below Korea. Uruguay had 2 draws and 1 loss, while Tunisia lost all three matches and were eliminated from the group stage. Korea is currently 6 points behind league leaders Mexico and has a recent record of 3 wins, 0 draws, and 2 losses (LLWWW) in their last five matches, losing the last two.
