- Mexico vs South Korea: Co-hosts Mexico became the first nation to qualify for the knockout stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
- They edged past South Korea 1-0 on Friday, June 19, to register their second consecutive victory of the tournament.
- Luis Romo’s second-half winner secured Mexico a home Round of 32 fixture and confirmed their progression with a game to spare.
Mexico, one of the three co-hosting nations alongside the USA and Canada, became the first team to punch their ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32.
Mexico secured their berth in the knockout stage as Group A winners and locked in home-field advantage after Luis Romo’s second-half strike propelled the tournament co-hosts to a 1-0 victory over South Korea on Friday morning.
The triumph lifted Javier Aguirre’s squad to six points from two matches and guaranteed their opening knockout clash would be staged in Mexico City on June 30.
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Mexico vs South Korea match report
A flyover buzzed above a raucous Guadalajara Stadium ahead of this contest, but the match itself took a while to ignite, with scoring opportunities few and far between during the opening stanza.
Jesus Gallardo signaled Mexico’s intention to seize control when he drilled a low shot into the side-netting four minutes into the second half, and the co-hosts were celebrating just sixty seconds later when Romo was on hand to poke into an unguarded net after a mix-up between Kim Seung-gyu and Lee Gi-hyuk.
“It was tough. We know them inside out. They pressured us relentlessly and gave us no room to breathe, and we returned the favor. In the end, it felt like one slip would be the decisive factor either way. It wasn’t a beautiful game, and the opposition didn’t let us do much,” Javier Aguirre, Mexico’s coach, reflected after the final whistle.
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Kim did well to redeem himself for his part in the goal by standing tall and pulling off a sensational stop to deny Raul Jimenez from close range in the 75th minute, while his counterpart Raul Rangel then produced an almost-unbelievable double save from Cho Gue-sung and Yang Hyun-jun with three minutes remaining to seal the win for Mexico.
With first place secured, Javier Aguirre’s men will now face a third-place finisher from one of Groups C, E, F, H, or I in the Round of 32 in Mexico City on June 30.
As for South Korea, despite the defeat, they remain in strong contention to also progress, thanks to their opening-day victory over the Czech Republic.
They will take on South Africa next on Thursday, June 25, at 4am East Africa Time in Monterrey. Mexico will face the Czech Republic in their final group fixture at the same time in Mexico City.
“We played exactly as we had planned. The way we conceded was frustrating. We’ll give it our all in the last group match. I told the players to stay composed and stick to our style. It wasn’t bad, we kept our cool throughout. Now we’ll focus on getting ready for the next one,” Hong Myung-bo, Korea Republic’s coach, said after the game.
Read more about other World Cup teams in 2026 below:
France national football team 2026
Morocco national football team 2026
Argentina national football team 2026
Mexico national football team 2026
Spain national football team 2026
Brazil national football team 2026