Korea Misses World Cup Last 32 After Finishing 10th Among 12 Third-Place Teams

Q: Unbeaten yet out: Was Iran’s World Cup dream crushed by bad luck or by unfair off-field treatment?

Iran’s exit was caused by both, but the decisive story is a mix of cruel football margins and a tournament environment the team says was clearly unequal. On the field, the evidence for bad luck is strong. Iran went unbeaten yet drew all three matches, and the key moments were razor-thin. Shoja Khalilzadeh’s stoppage-time “winner” against Egypt was ruled out by VAR for a marginal offside, turning a qualification-clinching victory into a 1-1 draw. Iran also saw a late outside result swing against them when Austria equalized against Algeria in the 96th minute, wiping out the scenario that would have sent Team Melli through. Add a missed Mehdi Taremi penalty and a late shot off the crossbar against Egypt, and the margins were exceptionally fine. But Iran’s complaints about off-field treatment were not minor. Their base was moved from Arizona to Tijuana after visa problems for support staff, and they were repeatedly required to enter the United States only shortly before matches and leave immediately after. Players and coach said that disrupted training, recovery and logistics, with travel delays and missing staff compounding the strain. Ghalenoei called the treatment “very unfair” and said the team had been deprived of proper preparation. The fairest reading is that bad luck delivered the final blow, but the off-field restrictions likely reduced Iran’s margin for error. An unbeaten team can survive misfortune if conditions are stable; Iran had neither stability nor luck.

3 articles · Updated · 코리아타임스 · Jun 28

South Korea were officially knocked out after the group stage ended Saturday, finishing third in Group A on 3 points and only 10th in the ranking of 12 third-place teams.
A 1-0 loss to South Africa on Wednesday left Korea needing help elsewhere; Senegal took the final qualifying spot on 3 points with a +2 goal difference, while Korea ended on -1.
Croatia's 2-1 win over Ghana and DR Congo's 3-1 victory over Uzbekistan then pushed Korea out of the top eight, with DR Congo reaching the knockout stage for the first time.
The exit ends Korea's 12th World Cup appearance without a fourth knockout run after previous advances in 2002, 2010 and 2022.
The Korea Football Association said coach Hong Myung-bo and eight players will return Tuesday, with no airport welcome ceremony planned for the first time in six away World Cups since 2002.