Round of 32 Likely, But Here Are the Possible Scenarios

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After a loss to Mexico, our team now holds a record of one win and one loss, once again facing the "possibility scenarios." While the dream of an early qualification has been dashed, the chances of advancing to the Round of 32 remain high. However, a loss in the match against South Africa could complicate the math and lead to the worst-case scenario: elimination from the group stage.

Reporter Kim Soo-young breaks down the scenarios for our national team to reach the Round of 32.

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If we win the third match against South Africa on the 25th, we will finish with two wins and one loss, advancing to the Round of 32 in second place in the group, following Mexico.

A draw against South Africa would also secure us a spot in the Round of 32 with 4 points, placing us second in the group.

If the Czech Republic defeats Mexico, they would be tied with us at one win, one draw, and one loss. However, because we won our head-to-head match in the first round, we would push the Czech Republic to third place based on the "head-to-head" rule.

The situation becomes complicated if we lose to South Africa.

We would then have to look at the results of the match between Mexico and the Czech Republic, which takes place at the same time.

First, if the Czech Republic draws or loses to Mexico, their maximum points would be 2. In this case, we would finish third in the group with our 3 points, behind South Africa.

In this scenario, we would have to compare our points and goal difference with other third-place teams from different groups to determine if we advance to the Round of 32.

Finally, if the Czech Republic beats Mexico, we are eliminated regardless of other results.

South Africa and the Czech Republic would both reach 4 points, pushing us to the bottom of the group.

If we advance as the second-place team in our group, we will play our Round of 32 match in Los Angeles, USA, on the 29th against the second-place team from Group B. If we advance as the third-place team, we will face a difficult Round of 32 match against the winner of either Group E, which includes Germany, or Group G, which includes Belgium.

(Video Editing: Won Hyeong-hee, Design: Choi Ha-neul)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.