ZAPOPAN, Mexico — Mexico capitalized on a defensive error by South Korea to secure a 1-0 victory on Thursday evening, becoming the first team to qualify for the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup.
This victory represents a significant achievement for Mexico, which failed to advance past the group stage in 2022. Celebrations erupted among fans as Mexico not only secured two wins on home turf but will also continue to play at least two more games, potentially three, in its home country.
Luis Romo scored in the 50th minute after a mishap between South Korea goalkeeper Kim Seung-Gyu and defender Lee Gi-Hyuk led to a dropped ball in the box. Romo swiftly seized the opportunity to score from the rebound.
“We’ve been performing well,” said Mexico coach Javier Aguirre. “While it wasn’t our best match, our opponent was challenging. However, we managed to capitalize on their mistake and had two or three other chances to score.”
South Korea nearly found a late equalizer in the 87th minute, but Mexico goalkeeper Raúl Rangel made a critical save from a close-range header by Cho Gue-Sung and followed up with an even better save on the rebound to prevent the ball from crossing the line.
With two wins under their belt, Mexico now sits at six points in Group A, three points ahead of South Korea and five points in front of Czechia and South Africa, who played to a 1-1 draw earlier in the day in Atlanta. This result means Mexico has already secured the top spot in the group, with a remaining match against Czechia.
The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, along with the eight best third-place teams, as the tournament expands to include 48 teams for the first time with a round of 32.
Before this match, Mexico had never won a World Cup game on home soil outside of Mexico City. Historically, its nine home matches took place mainly at Estadio Azteca during the 1970 and 1986 tournaments, resulting in five wins and three draws. The last time Mexico played outside Mexico City was in 1970, where they were defeated 4-1 by Italy in the quarterfinals.
The game started slowly, with both teams failing to generate significant scoring chances, prompting some discontent from fans at halftime.
Ranked 13th in the world, Mexico had faced a disappointing elimination in the group stage four years ago in Qatar, following a streak of seven consecutive exits in the round of 16.
South Korean forward Son Heung-Min struggled again and was substituted in the 57th minute.
At 33, Son is aiming to become South Korea’s all-time top scorer at the World Cup and the Asian player with the highest tally in the tournament’s history. In his previous three World Cups, he netted three goals.
Mexico’s lead could have extended, but Kim made a crucial save against a close effort from Raúl Jiménez in the 75th minute.
Despite pressing late into the game, South Korea couldn’t find the equalizer.
Ranked 22nd, South Korea is participating in their 11th consecutive World Cup and 12th overall, more than any other Asian nation. Their best result came in 2002 when they reached the semifinals as co-hosts with Japan. Since then, they have not advanced past the round of 16.
“It was an unfortunate mistake that cost us,” said coach Hong Myung-Bo. “We have one match left. Today is disappointing, but we should remain encouraged and prepare well for the next game.”
Unlike the previous match between South Korea and Czechia, which saw complaints about empty seats, this time there were no unoccupied spots in Guadalajara Stadium. The attendance was reported as 45,522 in the venue with a capacity of 45,664, hosting the national team for the first time.
Information for this report was sourced from The Associated Press.