Mexico
South KoreaGroup A
Guadalajara - Estadio Akron
Referee : Gustavo Tejera (Uruguay)
Spectators : 45522
Mexico: 1. Rangel - 2. Sanchez J., 4. Alvarez Ed., 5. Vasquez J-n - 6. Lira - 7. Romo (Vargas Ob., 71), 23. Gallardo - 25. Alvarado (Reyes, 80), 26. Gutiérrez (Pineda O., 71) - 9. Raul Jimenez (Gimenez S., 80), 16. Quiñones J. (Huerta, 84)
Substitution: Pineda O. (from 71); Vargas Ob. (from 71); Reyes (from 80); Gimenez S. (from 80); Huerta (from 84)
Bench: 12. Acevedo, 13. Ochoa - 20. Chavez M. - 24. Chávez L. - 8. Fidalgo, 19. Mora G. - 10. Vega A. - 14. González Ar., 22. Martínez G.
South Korea: 1. Kim Seunggyu - 2. Han-beom Lee, 3. Lee Ki-hyuk, 4. Kim Min-jae, 15. Kim Moon-hwan (Eom Ji-sung, 71), 22. Seol Young-Woo (Yang Hyun-jun, 71) - 6. Hwang In-beom, 8. Paik Seung-ho (Cho Gue-sung, 77) - 7. Son Heungmin (Oh Hyun-Gyu, 57), 10. Lee Jae-sung (Hwang Hee-chan, 57), 19. Lee Kang-in
Substitution: Hwang Hee-chan (from 57); Oh Hyun-Gyu (from 57); Yang Hyun-jun (from 71); Eom Ji-sung (from 71); Cho Gue-sung (from 77)
Bench: 12. Song Bum-keun, 21. Jo Hyeon-woo - 5. Kim Tae-hyeon, 13. Lee Tae-Seok, 14. Cho Wi-je - 16. Park Jin-seob - 23. Castrop, 24. Kim Jin-gyu - 17. Bae Joon-Ho, 26. Lee Dong-Gyeong
Yellow Cards: Lee Kang-in 4; Paik Seung-ho 58
Mexico became the first nation to officially secure a place in the knockout rounds
Mexico’s commanding 2-0 victory over South Africa at the Estadio Azteca was already a historic occasion, but Club Tijuana wonderkid Gilberto Mora provided another piece of history.
South Korea’s thrilling, come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Czechia in their Group A opener has forced the international media to take a much closer look at the Taeguk Warriors
Despite writing his name into the headlines by scoring Czechia's first goal of the 2026 World Cup, captain Ladislav Krejčí cut a deeply frustrated figure following his side's 2-1 defeat to South Korea.
South Korea and Czechia played out a gripping encounter in the second fixture of Group A at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
South Africa captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams offered a pragmatic assessment of his side’s 2-0 defeat to Mexico in the World Cup opener
Mexico manager Javier Aguirre refused to let a victorious start to their home World Cup campaign mask his team's shortcomings, offering a critical assessment of El Tri despite their 2-0 win over South Africa in the tournament opener.
The opening match of the historic 2026 FIFA World Cup offered a striking sense of déjà vu for football fans, perfectly mirroring the curtain-raiser from 16 years ago
Thirteen nations—many of which had braved a perilous transatlantic voyage—became the pioneers of a tournament that would change sport forever.
Roberto Martínez’s side controlled possession for large stretches of the match, yet their dominance failed to translate into meaningful chances
Mora became the youngest player ever to start a senior international final in a major tournament
Javier Aguirre's Tactical Return Pays Off
The reigning champions are now just one match away from lifting their 13th Gold Cup
