South Korea, ranked 25th just before the quadrennial football tournament kicked off last month, slipped to 32nd after its early World Cup exit.
In its group-stage matches, South Korea beat Czechia 2-1 in its opening match and appeared to be off to a strong start, but suffered 1-0 defeats to Mexico and South Africa, finishing third in its group and failing to advance to the knockout stage.
In particular, the loss to South Africa, then ranked 61st, dealt the biggest blow because defeats to lower-ranked opponents carry heavier point deductions under FIFA's ranking system.
The latest ranking also marks South Korea's lowest since December 2021, when it was 33rd. The country had stayed inside the top 30 since moving up to 29th in February 2022.
South Korea also dropped out of Asia's top three, falling to fourth after Australia overtook it. Japan remained the continent's highest-ranked team at 17th, followed by Iran at 22nd and Australia at 28th.
Meanwhile, World Cup winner Spain rose to No. 1, while Argentina fell to second after a 1-0 defeat in the final.
France, England and Brazil rounded out the top five. Mexico climbed four spots to 10th, while Norway jumped 12 places to 19th after reaching the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time.
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