Korea failed to advance to the Round of 16 of Brazil World Cup, after a 1-0 loss to Belgium at Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo on Friday morning in Korea Time.
 
Jan Vertonghen scored the winner in the 78th minute, giving the Marc Wilmots side a sweep of the three Group H matches.
 
Desperate for a win to stand any chance to move into the second round, Korea continued to search for a goal chance, in particular in the second half, after Steven Defour was red carded in the 44th minute on a foul against Kim Shin-wook.
 
But, the Taegeuk Warriors failed to break through dogged backline of Belgium, who responded with counterattacks. Divock Origi, who came off the bench to replace Dries Mertens in the 59th, created a chance to Belgium, firing a strong shot in the 78th minute which goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu parried, but Kim was short of defending on-rushing Vertonghen who tapped the deflected ball into the net.
 
Korea entered the match as last-place in Group H on a point. To move into the Round of 16, it needed not only to beat Belgium by at least two or three goals, but also hoped Russia beat or draw with Algeria in a match that started simultaneously.
 
Russia was also eliminated from the group after a 1-1 draw with Algeria.
 
Algeria is through on four points, including three points from a 4-2 victory over Korea, while Russia is on two points. Korea finished last in the group on a point.  
 
Having already qualified for the knockout stage with two victories, Belgium benched some of its key players against Korea, including Vincent Kompany, and Thomas Vermaelen.
 
Kim Shin-wook, a 1.96-meter-tall forward, started as a sole striker for Korea in the place of Park Chu-young, while goalie Kim replaced Jung Sung-ryong in front of the net.
 
Korea, 57th-ranked by FIFA, played against 11th-placed Belgium three times previously and never won once, losing twice and drawing once. Their last matchup before the Friday’s one was a friendly in Seoul in June 1999, which ended in a 2-1 loss for Korea.
 
Korea was Asia’s last hope to record a win at the Brazil World Cup. The other three qualifiers from Asia - Japan, Iran and Australia - were all eliminated as last place team in their respective groups.
 
Brazil was Korea’s ninth World Cup and eighth consecutive one. The semifinalists at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup advanced to the Round of 16 at the 2010 South Africa World Cup, where it lost to Uruguay 2-1.
 
Seventeen out of 23 players on Team Korea are playing overseas, making it the most international squad to represent the country at a World Cup. They were also the youngest Korean team at a World Cup, with their average age at 26 years and three months old.
 
But, the lack of cohesion as well as the chronic deficiency in defense was attributed to them failing to live up to the high expectation.