FIFA official announcement, Hong Myung-bo's miracle draw → Hope to win first place in the second group in history, but the U.S. Korea, Paraguay, Korea, can make the best group ever

Oct 16, 2025

A warm-up match between the South Korean national soccer team and Paraguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th. South Korea won 2-0. Son Heung-min, who greets his fans with his teammates. Sangam = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.10.14/

A warm-up match between the national soccer team and Paraguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Director Hong Myung-bo on the ground. Sangam = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.10.14/

It can be an opportunity for Hong Myung-bo, a miracle of advancing to the World Cup.

South Korea's A national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, won the October A-match friendly match against the Paraguay national team 2-0 at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Following the performance in September, it was a pleasant victory that could erase the memory of the defeat against Brazil.

With the victory over Paraguay, South Korea will be able to laugh in the World Cup draw. Good news came from the FIFA rankings. The allocation of the draw port for the World Cup finals will be determined by one port for the three host countries, and by FIFA rankings and regional playoff results. The three host countries will be allocated to the top seed, after which the remaining top nine countries will be in the same port, and the remaining ports will be filled with rankings. Four more teams will be named in the next four ports after the European playoffs.

A warm-up match between the South Korean national soccer team and Paraguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th. When Um Ji-sung scored the first goal, Son Heung-min brings the players together to talk. Sangam = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.10.14/

South Korea is currently ranked 23rd in the FIFA rankings, 2-0 against the U.S. in September's A-match, and held a 2-2 draw with Mexico, while other Asian countries such as Japan and Iran remained in the position while the ranking fell. If the current ranking is maintained, Korea is likely to be assigned to Port 2. If it takes 23rd place or higher, it is certain that it will keep its position in Port 2. It is the first time in history that Korea has been named in Port 2. Although there is an increase in the number of participating countries, it cannot be ruled out that they have consistently tried to maintain their strong position in Asia. South Korea finished the third Asian qualifying round for the North Korea-China World Cup undefeated and played an important schedule in the rankings.

In this situation, the possibility of maintaining the ranking has increased by finishing the match against Paraguay with a scoreless victory after the defeat against Brazil. According to forecasting sites, it is likely to rise to 22nd place. If it fell to the level of 3 ports instead of 2 ports, there is a possibility of the worst groupings. The biggest variable is also European qualification. In Europe, only the first place in the group will go straight to the finals in the preliminary round. The second-place teams will compete for the final four spots in the playoffs. The problem is that there is a growing possibility that prominent countries in the European qualifiers will head to the four ports. If Korea heads to the third port, the worst possibility of Brazil in the worst case scenario, Germany in the second, Korea in the third and Italy in the fourth ports are allotted to the group is also unavoidable.

By keeping the two-port position, South Korea can expect another favorable outcome. There are many expectations that the U.S. and Canada, which are relatively easy to compete, can be met in one port, and that groups containing weak players from each continent can be formed in the 3rd and 4th ports. And news emerged that could add to that expectation. It is Cabo Verde's advance to the World Cup finals. Cabo Verde, a small country with a population of 520,000, secured a 3-0 victory over Eswatini in the final Group D match (10th match) of the 2026 North-China World Cup qualifying round in Africa at Cabo Verde National Stadium in Praia, confirming its advance to the World Cup finals.

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It is an extraordinary event created by beating African powerhouses. He beat Cameroon to the top of Group D and confirmed his progress to the finals. Cabo Verde is a country that gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and was a colony for about 500 years. The land area is 4033 square kilometers, about one-quarter of that of Korea, and according to the World Bank, the population is slightly less than 525,000. It was the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup that Cabo Verde began to participate in the World Cup qualifiers. After seven attempts, he made it to the finals for the first time.

FIFA also paid attention to this. FIFA said on its official website 'Cabo Verde became the second least populated country to advance to the World Cup after Iceland. He beat Eswatini to confirm his qualification for the finals. Cabo Verde showed outstanding skills, determination and resilience under the professional guidance of former national team coach Bubista. He made history with a remarkable record of five consecutive wins and confirmed it at the threshold of qualifying for the finals,' he announced.

Even considering Cabo Verde's potential, South Korea is likely to be able to expect victory if they are grouped together. If the luck of teaming up with Cabo Verde along with the U.S. and Paraguay overlaps, it is not a vague dream to win the first place in the group since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. It may be much better to meet Cabo Verde than the other countries in Africa, which are known for being picky. Attention is also focusing on what variables Cabo Verde's advance to the World Cup will bring in the World Cup draw.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.