DistantNews
Support us
🇰🇷 South Korea /Sports

South Korea's World Cup hopes fade as Senegal surges to third place

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Senegal defeated Iraq 5-0 to secure third place in Group I of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, improving their goal difference and moving ahead of South Korea.
  • South Korea dropped to seventh place in the race for the eight available third-place spots in the expanded 32-team tournament.
  • France finished first in Group I with a perfect record after beating Norway 4-1, while Norway secured second place.

South Korea's hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup are dimming as they have fallen to seventh place in the rankings for the eight best third-placed teams. Senegal's resounding 5-0 victory over Iraq significantly boosted their goal difference, allowing them to leapfrog South Korea in Group I.

Senegal, now with a 1-2 record and three points, secured third place in their group. This win was crucial as they had been trailing South Korea in goal difference. The Senegalese team attacked aggressively from the start, scoring an early goal and then capitalizing on an Iraqi red card to add four more goals in the second half.

Meanwhile, France topped Group I with a flawless three wins, defeating Norway 4-1. The highly anticipated matchup between Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland did not materialize as Haaland was absent. Norway secured the second spot in the group and will face Ivory Coast in the next round.

DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog