World Cup: Mexico become first nation to qualify for Round of 32 as terrible mistake costs South Korea
Mexico has become the first team to qualify for the next round in the ongoing World Cup after a gusty 1-0 win over South Korea on Friday, June 19, 2026.
A Luis Romo strike at the 50th minute was enough to see El Tri edge the South Koreans in a delicately poised encounter to continue their impressive start on home soil by qualifying for the round of 32 after 2 victories in 2 matches.
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The back-to-back wins assured the team of advancing to the next stage as a group; the winners’ finishes are also in sight.
The North American side will be out to seal the group ties as the winners to fancy the prospects of facing one of the eight third-placed teams across all 12 groups, who will also qualify for the new round of 32.
Koreans battle hard
The Korens, straight from their open Group A win over the Czech Republic, were, however, the most dominant side in terms of possession and chances created and completed more passes, as both teams tied on eight shots each at goal.
It is the Mexicans who got the job done, with Moro exploiting a rare blunder from the South Korean goalkeeper to open the scoring.
Mexico custodian Raúl Rangel came clutch in the final minutes to deny the South Koreans’ late forays and conserve the huge victory, with Edson Álvarez also clearing an attempt off the line before an offside call was later made.
First win
The Mexicans got the World Cup party started as the co-hosts by sweeping South Africa 2-0 on Thursday, June 11, 2026, in an encounter with three red cards.
Johan Quinones and Raul Jimenez provided the goals to see El Tri kick off on a winning start against the African opposition.
With the second win in a row, the nation has now advanced to the knockout stage for the first time since 2002. A clash against the Czech Republic now awaits them in the final group. A clash as Korea face South Africa, who battled from behind to snatch a point against the Czech in their second match on Thursday.
