South Korea opened the tournament by beating the Czech Republic 2-1 on June 11 but lost to Mexico 1-0 a week later.

South Korea still had a chance to finish second in Group A, behind Mexico, with a win or a draw against South Africa on Wednesday but lost that game 1-0.

The result left South Korea at the mercy of other teams and they ended up not getting the help they needed to stay alive in the competition.

At the start of Saturday, South Korea were clinging to the eighth and final spot among third-place teams, sandwiched by two nations that each had one match remaining.

Croatia were ahead of them in seventh with three points in Group L thanks to their tiebreak edge in goals scored, while Algeria were in ninth with three points in Group J, trailing South Korea in goal difference. The Democratic Republic of the Congo also remained in the mix, as they were to face winless Uzbekistan in Group K for a chance to reach four points.

In the day's first match with implications for South Korea, Croatia defeated Ghana 2-1 when a Ghana victory would have helped the Taegeuk Warriors.

Then South Korea's fate was sealed when DR Congo beat Uzbekistan 3-1.

It pushed South Korea out of the top eight, as DR Congo jumped to No. 1 with four points and punched their first-ever knockout ticket.

This was South Korea's 12th World Cup appearance and they reached the knockout stage on three previous occasions -- going to the semi-finals as a co-host in 2002 and making it to the round of 16 in 2010 in South Africa and in 2022 in Qatar.

-- BERNAMA-YONHAP