Mexico defeats South Korea and steps towards World Cup knockout stage

(Patria) – The Mexican national team continued its winning streak at the World Cup by defeating South Korea 1-0, thus taking a major step towards qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition.

The World Cup hosts did not deliver a particularly attractive performance, but they were disciplined and patient enough to secure another three points. The match was decided by Luis Romo, who capitalised on a major error by goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu to score the only goal of the encounter.

Before the goal, the match was tight and tactically demanding, with plenty of battles in midfield. Mexico nevertheless had more of the game, especially in the first half, when they posed several serious threats through Julian Quinones.

South Korea failed to replicate their performance from the first round, when they came from behind to defeat the Czech Republic. Son Heung-min and his teammates tried to equalise in the second half, but the Mexican defence successfully repelled all attacks and preserved the narrow lead.

After defeating South Africa in the first round, Mexico recorded their second triumph and, with a maximum of six points, stand on the verge of qualifying among the 16 best national teams in the world.

On the other hand, South Korea are still in contention for advancing, but in the final round against South Africa they will be under the imperative of securing points.