South Korea is hanging its fate on the results of other matches in order to qualify for the 2026 World Cup Round of 32.

South Korea's hopes of advancing in the 2026 World Cup are no longer fully within their own control. The 0-1 defeat against South Africa in the final Group A fixture has forced the Taegeuk Warriors to rely on results from other groups to maintain their chance of qualifying for the round of 32.

"This is deeply disappointing as the match did not go according to our expectations, and as players we are naturally very upset," stated South Korea national team star Son Heung-min, as quoted by Korea Times.

This defeat puts South Korea in third position in the Group A standings. Rather than securing an automatic qualification spot, Son Heung-min and his teammates must now compete through the best third-placed team ranking path.

Competition along this route is extremely tight. From a total of 12 third-placed teams across all groups, only eight will earn the right to progress to the knockout stage. This means every point and goal difference will act as a crucial determining factor.

South Korea's position remains unsafe for knockout stage qualification, as multiple matches from other groups have still not been played.

The situation has grown even more complicated as the Taegeuk Warriors have only collected three points with a minus one goal difference, having scored twice and conceded three times over the entire group stage.

Meanwhile, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Sweden and Ecuador have each already confirmed one spot in the round of 32 through the best third-placed team rankings.

This confirmation has made the race for the remaining qualification spots even more fierce ahead of the conclusion of all group stage matches.

South Korea's fate still depends on other teams that have not yet completed their final group fixtures.

South Korea will have to wait until all group stage matches conclude on 28 June 2026.

Democratic Republic of the Congo, Algeria and Croatia all still hold the opportunity to end South Korea's dream of reaching the knockout stage via the best third-placed team route.