Their tournament
how their World Cup unfoldedSouth Korea close their World Cup 2026 account with a flat 0-1 defeat to South Africa, Maseko's goal just past the hour mark enough to settle a match the Taeguk Warriors never truly threatened to turn. They had squeezed through the group phase as one of the best third-placed sides, but that slender lifeline ran out in the round of 32 — eliminated without a goal scored in their final two outings, their tournament ending as quietly as it had begun.
Results
In-Beom 67′Hyeon-Gyu 80′Krejcí 59′
Romo 50′
Maseko 63′
Knocked out — the road ended in the group stage this time.
Group A standings
how the group finishedGroup A
Final| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇲🇽Mexico | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +6 | 9 | Group winner | |
| 2 | 🇿🇦South Africa | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 4 | Runner-up | |
| 3 | 🇰🇷South Korea | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 3 | Out | |
| 4 | 🇨🇿Czech Republic | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -4 | 1 | Out |
Squad
starting XI from South Korea at South Africa in boldGoalkeepers
- 1Kim Seung-Gyu35
- 12Song Bum-Keun28
- 21Jo Hyeon-Woo34
Defenders
- 2Lee Han-Beom24
- 3Lee Gi-Hyuk26
- 4Kim Min-Jae29
- 13Lee Tae-Seok24
- 22Seol Young-Woo27
- 5Kim Tae-Hyeon25
- 14Cho Wi-Je24
- 15Kim Moon-Hwan31
Midfielders
- 6Hwang In-Beom29
- 8Paik Seung-Ho29
- 19Lee Kang-In25
- 10Lee Jae-Sung34
- 16Park Jin-Seop30
- 17Bae Jun-Ho22
- 23Jens Castrop23
- 24Kim Jin-Gyu29
- 26Lee Dong-Gyeong28
Forwards
- 11Hwang Hee-Chan30
- 18Oh Hyeon-Gyu25
- 7Son Heung-Min34
- 9Cho Gue-Sung28
- 20Yang Hyun-Jun24
- 25Eom Ji-Sung24