Hong Myungbo's Squad Defeats Paraguay... Path Opens to Avoid Italy and Germany in Group Stage

Italy, Germany, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Denmark, and Austria.

Based on the FIFA rankings as of September, these are the strong teams from Europe and South America that are highly likely to be assigned to Pot 2 in the group draw for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. In contrast, the European and South American countries expected to be placed in Pot 3 include Ecuador, Turkiye, Ukraine, Wales, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and Serbia, which are considered less intimidating than the Pot 2 teams. This is precisely why it is crucial for South Korea to maintain its FIFA ranking at 23rd until the group draw for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, which will be held on December 5 (local time) at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., United States. The 23rd position is the cutoff for Pot 2, and if South Korea maintains its current ranking, it can avoid being grouped with teams like Italy, Germany, Colombia, and Uruguay.

The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myungbo, secured a 2-0 victory in the friendly match against Paraguay held at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th, with consecutive goals from Eom Jiseong in the 15th minute of the first half and Oh Hyungyu in the 30th minute of the second half. Unlike their previous match against Brazil on the 10th, where they managed only one shot on target and suffered a 0-5 defeat, South Korea dominated the game throughout, boasting a ball possession rate of 57% compared to Paraguay's 43%.

South Korea national football team player Eom Jiseong is seen celebrating passionately after scoring the opening goal in the 15th minute of the first half during the friendly match against Paraguay held on the 14th at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

To Avoid European and South American Teams in Pot 2, South Korea Must Maintain 23rd in FIFA Rankings

With this victory, Hong Myungbo's squad has significantly increased its chances of being placed in Pot 2.

FIFA divides teams with similar strength into several pots for the World Cup group draw. The highest-ranked teams are assigned to Pot 1, followed by Pot 2, and so on up to Pot 4, with one team from each pot placed in each group. This system is designed to prevent strong teams from being concentrated in a single group and to balance the overall strength across all groups.

Starting from the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, the number of participating countries will expand from 32 to 48. The 48 teams will be divided into 12 groups of four for the group stage, and the top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to the round of 32 knockout stage.

For this World Cup group draw, the countries ranked 1st to 9th in the FIFA rankings will be assigned to Pot 1. Since the co-hosts-the United States, Canada, and Mexico-are included in Pot 1, only up to the 9th-ranked teams, not the 12th, will be classified as top seeds. The nine countries currently favored to be top seeds are Spain, France, Argentina, England, Portugal, Brazil, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Croatia.

Pot Assignments Finalized After November Friendlies... Group Draw on December 5

Pot 2 will include teams ranked 10th to 21st, but since co-hosts Mexico (14th) and the United States (16th) move to Pot 1, the cutoff for Pot 2 extends to the 23rd-ranked team.

In FIFA's September ranking announcement, South Korea was ranked 23rd with 1,593.19 points. The gap with 22nd-ranked Austria (1,601.86 points) was 8.67 points, while the difference with 24th-ranked Ecuador (1,588.04 points) was 5.15 points.

After the 0-5 defeat to Brazil, there were concerns that South Korea would struggle to remain in Pot 2. However, as 24th-ranked Ecuador drew 1-1 with the United States and 22nd-ranked Austria lost 0-1 to Romania (51st), there is now a possibility for South Korea to rise to 22nd. The FIFA ranking prediction website 'Football Ranking' calculated South Korea's points as 1,589.75 before the friendly against Paraguay, projecting a 22nd-place ranking. With the 2-0 victory over Paraguay, South Korea has now sufficiently recovered the points lost in the Brazil match.

FIFA will announce the official October rankings on the 23rd. The final pot assignments will be confirmed after all November friendlies are completed. South Korea will play a friendly against Bolivia on November 14, and Ghana is being considered as the opponent for the second friendly in November.