Korean football stands at a historic milestone

South Korean football is facing a historic milestone: for the first time, it is likely to be in the second seed group at the 2026 World Cup draw.

Son Heung-min is the star of the Korean team.

This is considered an important turning point, opening up the opportunity to avoid the "death group" that has haunted them in previous World Cups.

According to predictions from TyC Sports (Argentina), FIFA will base on the rankings to divide the groups. The three host teams, the US, Mexico and Canada, will be in pot 1 by default, along with the nine highest-ranked teams. The following positions are divided into pot 2 (ranks 10-21), pot 3 (22-33) and pot 4 (34-45).

South Korea are currently ranked 23rd in the world , but thanks to the change in rankings, they are almost certain to be in pot 2. If this scenario becomes a reality, coach Hong Myung-bo and his team will escape the situation of having to start the World Cup as underdogs for the first time. In the same group with South Korea are Japan (21) and Uruguay (12), while the teams ranked below are Ecuador (24), Australia (25), Norway (31) and Egypt (35).

The ideal scenario for South Korea is to be drawn in a group consisting of Canada (28, pot 1), Slovakia (42, pot 3) and New Zealand (83, pot 4). Then the opportunity to advance further in the World Cup will be more open than ever.

However, risks still lurk. Some European giants may not win the top spot in the qualifying round, forcing a play-off and falling into group 4, typically Germany (9), Italy (11) or Belgium (8). If so, a “nightmare” scenario may occur, such as a group consisting of France-Korea-Paraguay-Germany, or Argentina-Korea-Norway-Italy.

The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place in December, while the European play-offs will begin in March 2026. Although the chance of reaching Pot 2 is wide open, South Korea's fate still depends largely on the draw.

Source: https://znews.vn/bong-da-han-quoc-dung-truoc-cot-moc-lich-su-post1586354.html