FIFA World Cup 2026 | Group A | Thursday, 18 June 2026 Estadio Akron, Guadalajara, Mexico | Referee: TBC
The Mexican fans booed their team off at half-time. The first half had been that bad. No shots on target. Nothing going forward. A crowd that had come to watch a party getting restless in the Guadalajara heat.
Then Luis Romo scored one of the stranger goals of the tournament five minutes into the second half, and by the time Raúl Rangel produced a double save from point-blank range in the dying seconds to preserve the lead, the Estadio Akron was celebrating. Mexico won 1-0. They are through to the knockout stage. Group A is theirs.
The goal was gift-wrapped by South Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu. Julián Quiñones swung in a cross from the right — the kind of delivery that should be caught comfortably by a keeper at this level. Kim went up to claim it and got tangled with his own defender. The ball dropped loose eight yards from goal. Romo had tracked the run into the box and needed one touch. He volleyed it over his shoulder and into an empty net. 1-0 in the 50th minute.
It was the kind of goal that decides tight games. And this was a tight game.
The first half had been truly dull. Javier Aguirre’s Mexico had the ball, knocked it around, and did precisely nothing dangerous with it. Three shots in total before the break. South Korea, setting up with their familiar defensive structure under Hong Myung-bo, were comfortable without ever threatening. Zero shots. Zero danger. The Mexican faithful, who had been raucous at the Azteca against South Africa in the opener, went notably quiet as the half wore on. The boos when the players walked in at half-time were audible and deserved.
Whatever Aguirre said in that dressing room worked. Mexico came out sharper, more purposeful, and then the Korean error changed everything. Once they had the lead, El Tri managed the game intelligently. They did not try to press for a second when the first would be enough. They dropped into a shape that made South Korea’s path to goal as difficult as possible.
South Korea pushed in the final stages. Yang Hyun-jun had a shot on target in the 87th. Cho Gue-sung had an effort not long after. Both fell to Rangel, who had not been seriously tested all evening but produced the moments that mattered when they arrived. Back-to-back saves, both from close range, both requiring real sharpness. It was the passage of play that cemented the win and it was Rangel who delivered it.
FOX Sports called his double stop the key play of the game and they were right. Not the goal. Not the build-up to the goal. Rangel in the 87th minute, when South Korea finally had a proper opening after an hour of not having one.
Mexico won the World Cup’s previous two meetings between these sides — France 1998 and Russia 2018. They have won the first three. South Korea’s World Cup record against El Tri is now 0 wins from three. Their fate goes to the final group game against South Africa at Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe on June 24. A win likely keeps them in the tournament. A loss sends them home.
Mexico face Czech Republic on the same day back in Mexico City. They have already qualified. Aguirre will rotate. The question is how much rotation, given the knockout stage draw depends partly on where in the table they finish.
South Korea’s xG was 0.69 for the match — actually better than Mexico’s 0.48. They had more of the game, created more danger. They simply did not score. The goalkeeper error on the Mexico goal, the double save from Rangel at the end — two moments decided a match that statistically ran fairly close.
Raúl Jiménez — who had scored in the South Africa win and wept on the pitch after breaking a record — was less involved against South Korea but remained active in the press. Quiñones was their best attacking outlet again, his cross leading directly to the winning goal.
Mexico go to the round of 32. They host that game at the Azteca, their dream scenario throughout the planning for this tournament. The co-host nation, at the stadium they love most, in the first knockout game. That is the reward for winning Group A.
For live World Cup scores from every group, visit fawanews.org.uk. Full results, standings and knockout bracket at the official FIFA World Cup website.
Mexico 1-0 South Korea FIFA World Cup 2026, Group A | Thursday, 18 June 2026 Estadio Akron, Guadalajara, Mexico
Goal: Luis Romo 50′ (volley, Kim Seung-gyu error — cross from Quiñones)
Mexico: Rangel; defenders; Álvarez, Romo; Quiñones, Jiménez and others
South Korea: Kim Seung-gyu; defenders; Yang Hyun-jun, Cho Gue-sung and others
Stats: xG Mexico 0.48 — South Korea 0.69 | Shots (first half) Mexico 3 — South Korea 0 | Half-time: 0-0
Group A standings: Mexico 6 pts (qualified, group winners) | South Korea 3 pts | Czech Republic 1 pt | South Africa 1 pt
