Ticket prices for the Round of 32 match in Los Angeles have been cut in half after Hong Myung-bo's squad lost its final group-stage game, missing the chance to play in the U.S. city. When Korea unexpectedly lost to South Africa in its final match and failed to advance to LA, fans who had secured tickets early to watch the national team in person were left in a difficult position.
According to TicketData, a World Cup ticket price analysis platform, as of 4 p.m. Wednesday Korea time, the lowest price for the Round of 32 match between South Africa and Canada—set for 12 p.m. Friday in LA—was tallied at $735 (about 1.13 million won). That marks a 51 percent plunge compared with the roughly $1,500 (about 2.31 million won) level recorded at the same time just three days earlier, before the bracket was confirmed.
Korea had been scheduled to play in LA if it advanced to the Round of 32 as the runner-up in Group A. Ticket sales, driven largely by local Korean residents, had surged and pushed prices higher, but after the team dropped to third place in the group as a result of the final match, the LA game fell through and prices plummeted.
FIFA introduced a dynamic pricing system starting with this tournament. Under the system, prices fluctuate in real time according to spectator demand for tickets. LA is a city with a large Korean population, and demand among local Korean residents was high in anticipation of the Round of 32 match being held there. However, after South Africa moved up as the runner-up in Group A and ended up playing Canada in LA, demand for tickets among Korean residents appears to have dropped sharply.
If Korea advances to the Round of 32 as a wild card in the competition among third-place teams, it will face Germany, the Group E winner, in Boston, or take on the Group G winner in Seattle.
