It wasn’t pretty, the game distinguished by little other than its black v lilac colour scheme, but Mexico became the first side at the 2026 World Cup to secure their place in the knockout stage. They are sure to top their group and stay in Mexico City, opening the path for an apocalyptic meeting at the Azteca in the last 16. The question for Mexico and South Korea after their opening wins was whether they had been good or their opponents bad, and this offered a fairly clear answer: neither is over-blessed with creative edge.
The only goal came after 50 minutes and was a gift from South Korea. Kim Seung-gyu, the goalkeeper, came to claim a looping header, but did so over the top of Lee Ki-hyuk, jarring his elbow on the defender’s head and spilling the ball for Luis Romo, who hooked in his fifth international goal on his 64th appearance. Romo was one of three changes made from Mexico’s lineup for the opener, coming in for Álvaro Fidalgo as Javier Aguirre resisted the popular demand to hand a start to the 17-year-old Gilberto Mora. A remarkable double save from Raúl Rangel in the closing minutes preserved the lead as he got down to parry Cho Gue-sung’s header and had the core strength to twist and gather Yang Hyun-jun’s sliced follow-up.
“It was a quite a tactical match and hard to digest for the fans,” said Aguirre. “The wins speak of our maturity as a team. We were caught off guard before Rangel’s save but otherwise this speaks of a team that knows how to handle the game.” In his third World Cup with Mexico, Aguirre believes he has also matured. “I used to be more stringent,” he said. “I’m calmer, more serene. For instance, I don’t mind them using their smart phones all the time; last time I was in a battle with them.”
This was the first time Mexico had ever played a World Cup game in Guadalajara, yet still it was not full. It was nothing like as empty as it had been in South Korea’s win over Czechia last week, but plastic seats were visible in clear patches, particularly in the corporate tier that runs round the centre of this stadium. This is not the old Estadio Jalisco, where Gordon Banks kept out Pelé’s header in 1970 and the France forward Bruno Bellone, in whose garden Grace Kelly died, scored in the shootout in the 1986 quarter-final against Brazil with a penalty that hit the post and bounced in off the head of the goalkeeper Carlos. This rather is the Estadio Akron (or Estadio Guadalajara as Fifa’s de-sponsored version has it), about 15 miles west of the Jalisco, which opened in 2010. The outside covered in turf, it rises from a flat plain to the west of the city of Zapopan, which borders Guadalajara, like the sort of venue an ambitious hobbit might erect on an industrial park on the fringes of the Shire’s green belt.
Both sides lacked the urgency of their opening fixtures, perhaps as a result of the format. With a win already on the board, a draw as good as secured their progress. There was little risk or adventure from either side and the first corner didn’t arrive until injury time. The crowd seemed broadly accepting – more patient certainly than the fans at the Azteca who, demanding more, had booed in Mexico’s opening game when they led 1-0 against 10 men – but eight minutes before half-time they too had had enough and an extended spell of South Korean passing provoked furious whistles. Not that it made much difference.
South Korea and Mexico have had a close relationship since the first Korean migrants arrived in 1905. Work began on a free trade agreement between the nations in 2012; although that is yet to be concluded, South Korea is now Mexico’s sixth-largest trade partner globally. There’s a Friendship Pavilion donated by the South Korean government in the seniors garden in Chapultepec Park in Mexico City. But friendliness goes only so far, and if a team is going to present a goal on a platter, as Kim did, Mexico were never going to reject the gift. Kim did later make a fine close-range block from Raúl Jiménez, but nobody is going to remember that.
South Korea’s preparations had been disrupted when video emerged of two people, assumed to be journalists, making disparaging comments about Son Heung-min’s abbreviated term of military service. In protest, players refused to perform media duties two days before the game. Son himself struggled again. He is only 33 but looks older, struggling to cope with Mexico’s offside trap, and unable to dislodge the ball from between his feet when a chance presented itself. He was substituted soon after.
“Today’s result is disappointing,” said the South Korea coach, Hong Myung-bo. “The mistake we made was unfortunate but we shouldn’t be discouraged because we will prepare better for the next match.” A draw against South Africa in their final game would still take South Korea through, but it’s hard to see this limited side going much further. Mexico, meanwhile, may have won two out of two, but so far they have shown little beyond a functional competence.
