Korea Republic 1-2 Mexico
Another team makes it through to the knockout stages of the World Cup, and it is North America’s turn to celebrate this time around.
Mexico have secured two victories and made it out of an incredibly tough group stage. El Tri are now headed to the knockout stages of the World Cup 2018 and will now be free to pursue the top spot of a group that features the defending World Cup champions!
Many of the pundits and experts at SBOBET believed that the Mexicans, who were still on a high after seeing off Germany in an incredible 1-0 result, would simply overwhelm the Taegeuk Warriors with their pace and technical brilliance. The predicted script was followed to a T as the Koreans found it difficult to stop Mexico’s attack and defence.
There should be no doubts about Juan Carlos Osorio’s team at this point on: Mexico are here in Russia, and Mexico will stay in Russia to fight for the coveted trophy.
Highlights of the game
Like the equally fantastic Russia-Saudi Arabia match, Shin Tae-young’s team were duly honoured to be supported by South Korean president Moon Jae-in. The 1-0 defeat they endured against Sweden means that they still had a chance to salvage the situation and make the Group F an open playing field.
Korea Republic kicked the game off but soon saw the Mexicans slowly taking control of the game. The Mexicans had a lot of time with the ball in the first half, and Korea had to play physical, defensive football in order to stop any positive developments from happening in favour of Mexico.
Mexico had a chance to take the lead in the twelfth minute. A free-kick from the right to the box saw the ball go straight to Javier Hernandez’s head. Chicharito headed a powerful ball to the far post, but the shot went wide.
Korea Republic had their chances on the attack, as more direct balls to the back line saw Son Heung-min go for a blitzing attack against the Mexican defence in the 22nd minute. However, the lack of support meant that Son had to make the shot attempts right then and there, and his efforts went nowhere.
The first El Tri goal would be coming soon after Son’s sole effort. Jang Hyun-soo’s hand blocked the ball within the penalty box, forcing Mazic to point to the spot. Carlos Vela, in honour of his deceased grandfather, took and converted the penalty.
Mexico had almost doubled the lead moments after Vela’s strike as he and Hirving Lozano made superb passes, but Cho Hyun-woo brilliantly saved Miguel Layun’s strike.
Son had another chance to equalise before half-time as the South Koreans made another counter-attack, but Guillermo Ochoa made a brilliant save and ended the half 1-0.
The second half saw more of the same material from the first half as Vela and Chicharito had their way with the football multiple times, scaring Cho to make saves.
The Taegeuk Warriors soon found themselves in a deep ditch in the 66th minute when El Tri scored again. Hirving Lozano, the hero in Mexico’s outstanding win against Germany, ran the ball up the middle from their own half to South Korea. He makes a nice through pass to Chicharito. The West Ham United striker baited the defender to diving and made a near-post shot past Cho to double the lead.
The game was effectively over from that point as Shin Tae-yong’s men simply didn’t produce enough quality to help them put on a fighting chance against El Tri. They struggled to keep hold of the possession and had to frequently foul in order to stop Mexico’s momentum from growing even further.
Tottenham’s Son Heung-min finally scored a cracker of a goal in the 92nd minute to somewhat give the Koreans a faint, dying hope. He fired a bullet from outside the box and into the far post. There was nothing Ochoa could do about the goal but just shrug it off.
Besides, it was the last bit of effort from the Koreans as Mazic blew the final whistle to draw a curtain to this entertaining game.
Key statistics
This World Cup has been one full of very rough challenges, and Vela’s penalty adds to the growing statistic. His spot kick was the fourteenth penalty awarded in this World Cup.
Korea Republic, ranked 42 spots below Mexico in the FIFA rankings, struggled to keep up with Mexico. They incurred 24 fouls in 90 minutes of action, and four red shirts were listed in Mazic’s book by the end of it all.
This game could also be one of the best World Cup 2018 highlights to aspiring strikers as a classic example on how to beat offside traps. Neither team was caught offside by the linesmen throughout the game.
This also game also extends Mexico’s lead over Korea in their head-to-head matches. Their record now stands at seven wins, four losses and one draw.
What’s next?
El Tri can now focus on topping their group when they face Sweden. If they play the same way they did in their win that defied all logic and World Cup 2018 odds, they should have no problem running away with another win.
Meanwhile, Korea Republic will end their World Cup with a tough match against Germany. Son Heung-min will be looking to end his Russian summer with at least a victory, so expect the Taegeuk Warriors to throw everything they can to the unnerved Germans.
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