Claim: South Korea has been officially eliminated from FIFA World Cup 2026 in the group stage.
Conclusion: The claim is false. South Korea has not been eliminated. They finished third in Group A and remain mathematically in contention to advance as one of the eight best third-placed teams across the 12 groups.
Rating: False 
Several social media users have claimed that South Korea has been officially eliminated from the FIFA World Cup 2026. Verified X user ‘ofootball_’ made such a post with the caption : “SOUTH KOREA HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED FROM THE FIFA WORLD CUP” Attached to the post is an image showing a South Korean player) in a header duel against a South African opponent. View the post below –
🚨 SOUTH KOREA HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED FROM THE FIFA WORLD CUP. 🇰🇷💔 pic.twitter.com/rdDrsvsLIu
— World Cup 2026 (@ofootball__) June 25, 2026
Other users have shared similar claims that can be seen here, here.
🚨 SOUTH KOREA HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED FROM THE FIFA WORLD CUP. 🇰🇷💔 pic.twitter.com/DUvQVLgEdZ
— Jameel Chughtai 🇵🇰🇦🇷💙🤍🐐 (@Jameel040) June 25, 2026
South Korea gets eliminated from the World Cup pic.twitter.com/4PHRCue579
— Kumashun🇯🇵🐻💎 (@isfjcutebear) June 25, 2026
FACT CHECK
DigitEYE India decided to investigate this claim and found it to be false. South Korea have not been knocked out as their third-place finish in Group A still leaves them with a mathematical chance of reaching the Round of 32 as one of the tournament’s eight best third-placed sides.
Details:
We first conducted a web search to learn about South Korea’s official position in the FIFA World Cup 2026 ranking. According to a report published by VnExpress, South Korea fell 1-0 to South Africa in their decisive Group A clash. The defeat leaves Korea in third place in Group A, with their fate now “uncertain” as qualification depends on results elsewhere and whether they can advance as one of the best third-placed teams.
Next, we checked the official table published on FIFA’s website and confirmed that South Korea was in the third position of their group. South Korea ended with 3 points (1 win, 0 draws, 2 losses) placing them third behind Mexico (9 pts) and South Africa (4 pts). Czechia finished last with 1 point.
According to a report published by Sports Illustrated, the expanded 2026 World Cup format means “the top two teams from each of the 12 groups slide straight through” to the Round of 32, while “eight of the 12 sides which finish third” also advance. Those third-placed teams are “pooled together in their own separate table” and ranked by “points, then goal difference followed by total goals scored,” with fair play score and FIFA ranking used if they still cannot be separated.
The report further notes that this system adds “another layer of complexity” because the final list of third-place qualifiers directly shapes the knockout bracket and potential opponents. View a section from the report below –
Fox Sports constructed a third place world cup standing chart where South Korea is ranked in the 6th position among 8 other third placed nations as of June 26, 2026. The report further writes that this is “determined by points, goal difference, goals scored and other tiebreakers.” View the chart made by Fox Sports below –
DigitEYE India therefore concluded that South Korea still has a chance of qualifying, since eight of the 12 teams that finish third can still advance to the Round of 32.
Thus, the claim is false.
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