South Korea (Republic of Korea)
Participated in 10 World Cups. They first participated in 1954 and returned 32 years later, and South Korea has not missed a World Cup since 1986 until Russia.1954 was South Korea's 1st appearance in the tournament, but they were so outclassed by the other teams that they were shut out by 9 and 7 goals in just two group matches.South Korea returned to the World Cup 32 years later. And from 1986 to 1998, it participated in four consecutive times. However, the Korean team's record against the strongest teams from Europe and the United States was still quite dismal.
In all four of those World Cups, they went home early in the group stage. It wasn't until the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan that South Korea beat Poland in the group stage, drew with the United States, and beat Portugal in the final game to finish first in the group. In the knockout stage, South Korea beat Italy and Spain in quick succession, thanks to very biased refereeing. Although they did not beat Turkey in the third and fourth place finals, their 4th place finish set a new record for an Asian team in the World Cup.In the 2006 World Cup, South Korea beat Togo and drew with France in their first two matches, and had a very good prospect of making it out of the tournament. However, it was shut out by Switzerland by two goals in the last match and unfortunately did not make it out of the World Cup.
In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Korea beat Greece by two goals in the first match and lost 1:4 to Argentina in the second match. However, in the all-important third match, they managed to reach the round of 16 with a two-goal draw against Nigeria, marking the first time South Korea had made it out of the group stage in a World Cup outside of their home country, although they were eliminated by Uruguay in the round of 16.In the 2014 FIFA World Cup, South Korea reached a draw in their first match against Russia, followed by two consecutive defeats and just one point in three matches.2018. Despite not qualifying for the Round of 16, they beat Germany by two goals for the first time in the team's history in an official tournament.In early February 2022, South Korea qualified for this year's FIFA World Cup in Qatar two rounds ahead of schedule with a two-goal win in Group A of the Asian Zone 12 tournament in early February, marking the 11th consecutive year that South Korea has participated in the World Cup proper.
