GUADALAJARA, Mexico — In a tense Group A World Cup clash on Thursday, Mexico capitalized on a costly defensive mistake from South Korea to seal a 1-0 victory, cementing its place as the first nation to book a spot in the tournament’s knockout round. The result marks a standout turnaround for El Tri, which crashed out in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup and has now notched two consecutive wins on home turf in front of thousands of cheering, celebrating fans.
The game-deciding moment came in the 50th minute, when a collision between South Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu and center-back Lee Gi-hyuk inside the penalty area left the ball loose at the feet of Mexico’s Luis Romo. With the net wide open, Romo slotted home the easy finish to put Mexico ahead.
South Korea pushed hard for an equalizer in the final minutes of regulation, and nearly got it in the 87th minute. Striker Cho Gue-sung connected with a close-range header that was blocked by Mexican goalkeeper Raúl Rangel. When the rebound bounced straight back to Cho, Rangel stretched out his right arm to make a game-saving stop, stopping the ball from crossing the goal line and preserving Mexico’s clean sheet and lead.
Following the win, Mexico sits atop Group A with six points from two matches, holding a three-point lead over second-place South Korea. The Czech Republic and South Africa played to a 1-1 draw earlier Thursday in Atlanta, leaving both sides with just one point, five points adrift of the tournament leaders.
This 2025 World Cup marks the first iteration of the competition’s expanded 48-team format, which introduces a new knockout round structure: the top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, joined by the eight highest-ranked third-place finishers to form a 32-team round for the first knockout round.