what has to happen for south korea to advance

South Korea’s path is now very narrow: it needs results elsewhere to go its way in the third-place table, and the clearest scenario reported is that Croatia must lose, Algeria must be defeated, or Congo must draw, depending on how the remaining group standings shake out.

What matters

• The top two teams from each group advance automatically, and the eight best third-place teams also move on to the Round of 32.

• South Korea is sitting in the third-place race, so its fate depends on other groups finishing with weaker third-place records than Korea’s.

• Recent reports say Korea’s chances have dropped sharply, with one outlet putting the Round of 32 odds at 32.90%.

Plain-English version

South Korea does not control its own destiny anymore. It needs enough other third-place teams to finish on fewer points, worse goal difference, or both, so Korea stays inside the top eight third-place spots.

Most likely reading

Based on the latest reporting, the practical hope is that several rivals stumble in their final matches, especially teams like Croatia, Algeria, or Congo, so South Korea can remain high enough in the third-place ranking to qualify.

The short version: Korea likely advances only if enough other third-place teams drop points and its current standing survives the final comparison.