Mexico beats South Korea, clinches Group A and World Cup knockout spot

Mexico’s World Cup run suddenly looks like momentum, but the 1-0 win over South Korea in Zapopan was built as much on resilience and fortune as on control. Luis Romo’s goal in the 50th minute gave Javier Aguirre’s side six points, clinched first place in Group A and made Mexico the first team to book a place in the knockout stage.

The decisive moment came when South Korea goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu made a costly error and Romo finished from close range. After that, Mexico spent long stretches absorbing pressure rather than dictating play. South Korea held 57.6% possession, while Mexico finished with 42.4%, yet the Mexicans were sharper where it mattered most, putting four shots on target to South Korea’s two. Raúl Rangel’s work in goal and a disciplined back line kept Heung-min Son and South Korea from turning their territorial edge into an equalizer.

Aguirre did not try to dress up the performance. “A partido para olvidar, but a result to remember,” he said after the final whistle, a blunt assessment that matched the night on the field. Mexico got the points it needed, but the underlying balance of play offered a more cautious reading than the swelling celebrations around the stadium suggested.

Still, the broader significance was hard to miss. Mexico won its first two matches at a World Cup for the first time in 24 years, since the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan, when it opened with victories over Croatia and Ecuador. It was also a sharp reversal from Qatar 2022, when Mexico failed to get out of the group stage. Against South Korea, the historical record stayed intact too: Mexico has now beaten the Asians in all three World Cup meetings, adding this result to wins in France 1998 and Russia 2018.

The official attendance at Estadio Guadalajara, also known as Estadio Akron, was 45,522, and the celebration spread well beyond Zapopan into Guadalajara and Mexico City. Mexico’s next knockout match is set for June 30 in Mexico City, where a team that has already awakened the country’s hope will try to prove that this run is more than a fortunate start.