South Korea's hopes of reaching the Round of 32 at the World Cup ended Sunday.
The final blow came when the Democratic Republic of Congo defeated Uzbekistan 3-1 in the final Group K match.
Congo finished the group stage with one win, one draw and one loss, earning four points and moving into third place in Group K.
The result pushed South Korea down to ninth among the third-placed teams, just outside the eight qualifying spots, with no chance of moving up.
South Korea finished third in Group A on Thursday with one win and two losses, earning three points.
South Korea failed to advance despite opening the tournament with a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic. Back-to-back 1-0 defeats to Mexico and South Africa left the team unable to secure a place in the round of 32 as the second-placed team.
Under the expanded 48-team format, the top two teams from each group advance automatically, while the eight best third-placed teams also move on to the knockout stage.
That left South Korea relying on results from other groups, with fans hoping the slim mathematical chance of qualification would hold.
The national team ranked 34 out of the 48 teams that participated in the tournament, marking a historical low among the World Cups that it has competed so far.
Head coach Hong Myung-bo and eight other members of the team are reportedly scheduled to leave Guadalajara on Sunday without a homecoming event or press conference.
They are expected to transfer in the US and arrive at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday.
It will be the first time since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup where the national team comes home without a ceremony.
The other members, including captain Son Heung-min, are scheduled to return on a different day.
"The rest of the team will split up into different groups and separately arrive in Korea by Wednesday," a Korea Football Association official said.
shwang9@heraldcorp.com
