South Korea Football Team Awarded $1.5 Million Despite Worst-Ever World Cup Finish

Despite a disappointing early exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the South Korean national football team is set to receive substantial prize money totaling 20.8 billion won (approximately $1.5 million USD). Each of the 26 players on the squad will be awarded 80 million won (around $58,000 USD) individually.

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80 million won per person for the final roster.

The team, managed by Hong Myung-bo, finished their World Cup campaign with a record of one win and two losses, accumulating three points. This performance was insufficient to secure a spot in the round of 32, placing them 34th overall. This marks the team's poorest performance in their World Cup history, falling short of expectations for a 16강 (round of 16) finish.

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The Hong Myung-bo-led Korean national football team finished the 2026 North, Central America and Caribbean World Cup in 34th place overall.

The total prize money includes a base payment of 50 million won per player, an increase from the 20 million won given during the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Additional bonuses were awarded for results: 30 million won for a win and 10 million won for a draw. South Korea secured a 30 million won bonus for their opening 2-1 victory against Czechia but failed to add to their winnings after subsequent 0-1 losses to Mexico and South Africa. The Korean Football Association had outlined higher bonus tiers for advancing in the tournament, including 100 million won for the round of 32 and up to 600 million won for winning the championship, but these were not triggered by the team's group stage elimination. Additionally, the association's president, Chung Mong-gyu, had pledged personal funds for further bonuses if the team reached the knockout stages.

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Despite the worst performance, the total prize money for the 26 Taegeuk Warriors is 2.08 billion won.