Amid concerns, outlooks more positive than expected have also emerged. Hong Myung-bo's team was evaluated by a major overseas outlet as having the strength of a round-of-16 team for the 2026 International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) North American World Cup.
The global outlet "The Athletic" said on the 2nd (Korean time), "The 48 teams that will compete in the 2026 World Cup to be held in the United States·Canada·Mexico have finally been confirmed. Now we can try to predict who will win. So we ranked the teams most likely to stand on the podium at the World Cup final from 1 to 48," announcing a power ranking of World Cup participants.
On the 1st, the countries that will compete on the main stage of the 2026 North American World Cup, the first to feature 48 teams, were all decided. In the final playoff, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Türkiye, Sweden, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of the Congo survived and boarded the last train to the finals.
Now all groupings and matchups have been confirmed. A surprise occurred in Group A, where Korea is placed. Denmark, considered the strongest favorite in European playoff path D, was eliminated after a penalty shootout, and the Czech Republic joined the finals. As a result, Korea will face the Czech Republic in its first group match, then play Mexico and South Africa sequentially.
However, Korea returned from the two-match March A-match European trip with many tasks to solve. The national team led by coach Hong Myung-bo suffered a 0-4 rout, conceding four goals to Côte d'Ivoire, and then lost 0-1 to Austria.
Hong Myung-bo's team attempted to deploy a three-back again during this European two-match trip to test final tournament competitiveness, but it failed to score a single goal and recorded consecutive defeats. Defensive concentration was unstable, and the midfield without Hwang In-beom lacked strength. Two midfielders who are not outstanding in mobility and work rate alone inevitably made both defensive coordination and build-up difficult.
There was also considerable harsh criticism abroad. The Guardian said, "There are concerns that things are flowing like the disastrous preparation process at the 2014 World Cup when Hong Myung-bo first took the helm," and rated Korea's strength 44th among 48 teams. It was not only last in Group A but also among the bottom ranks in Asia.
South Africa's Daily News also analyzed Korea as a one-win sacrifice. The outlet said, "Korea is very worrisome. Recent results have shown a sad reality," and "For South Africa, Korea could be an important breakthrough. Currently Korea is showing vulnerabilities and has not found solutions. Korea may test (South Africa's) confidence. But at the same time it will also provide opportunities," viewing Hong Myung-bo's team as the easiest opponent.
But The Athletic's view was the exact opposite. It instead placed Korea 16th in its power ranking, calling it the strongest in Group A. Mexico followed in 18th, and the Czech Republic (35th) and South Africa (37th) were mentioned as candidates for elimination.
The outlet said, "If the star players perform at their best, Korea is the most likely bet among Asian countries to go the furthest in this tournament. But that always comes with the huge caveat of 'if'," making the performances of Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan and Lee Kang-in conditions for success.
The Athletic stressed, "Son Heung-min will be the poster figure for this tournament. For him to recreate the glory of 2002, when Korea used home advantage to become the first Asian team to reach the semifinals, Wolves' Hwang Hee-chan and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)'s Lee Kang-in must step up a level."
The relatively favorable group draw also raises expectations. The outlet added, "Korea's draw luck is decent. In Group A it will face Mexico, South Africa, and the Czech Republic, which is regarded as the weakest of the teams that advanced from the European playoffs."
Among the other teams in Group A, Mexico received a positive evaluation. The Athletic noted, "Mexico saw its streak of seven consecutive round-of-16 appearances end at the 2022 tournament with the humiliation of group-stage elimination. If the same result is repeated at a tournament held at home, it would be a national disaster," and said, "It is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the draw. It can start the June-opening match with an optimistic outlook."
The Czech Republic and South Africa did not have high expectations. The Czech Republic, which advanced by knocking out Denmark after a penalty shootout, was criticized for having no particular strengths except for striker Patrik Schick. South Africa is appearing in the World Cup for the first time since its home tournament in 2010, and because its draw luck is not bad, it was mentioned only as a team that might reasonably be expected to advance from the group stage.
Japan, expected to be the strongest in Asia, was placed at 21st. Considering that it recently beat Scotland and England 1-0 in succession, this ranking is lower than expected. The Athletic analyzed, "This is an eighth consecutive World Cup appearance, but it has never yet crossed the round-of-16 threshold. But this time it has enough talent to achieve better than that."
Meanwhile, the strongest favorite to win was selected as Spain, the "Euro 2024" champion. It was assessed as even more threatening because young, attacking talents are still developing. Argentina was second and France third, forming the top ranks. They were followed in order by Brazil, the Netherlands, England, Portugal, Germany, Colombia and Croatia.
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