Key events
23 mins: Mexico are now playing the greater urgency and forcing the issue but they are struggling to move the ball cleanly in the final third against a committed Korean defence.
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21 mins: Joshua Reynolds has perfectly described El Tri. “Mexico really excel at being boring, boring, boring, NOT BORING AT ALL”.
20 mins: Save! Superb play from Alvarado on the right, cutting in onto his left and curling over a wonderful cross that Quinones attacks on the penalty spot and directs a decent header that Kim is forced to dive to his right and save. Not only that, he holds onto the effort for good measure.
19 mins: Korea have made a couple of errors in possession across defence that haven’t cost them yet, but they need to be careful.
17 mins: Now Sanchez is offside on the overlap for Mexico. Lots of jabbing and attempted combinations so far but nothing is landing.
16 mins: Offside! But that was one of the all-time great World Cup goalline saves from Alvarez. Son thought he had sprung the offside trap, found by the vertical pass, and the LA man lofted a half-volley over the onrushing keeper and seemingly into the far corner, only for Alvarez to hurtle towards his own net and acrobatically volley clear. All moot once the offside flag is raise.
15 mins: Korea drop into a compact 5-3-2 structure and allow Mexico to dictate terms. El Tri are patient, looking for triangles to unleash Gallardo on the left, but the execution is off. It is very willing in midfield.
13 mins: South Korea have misplaced a few passes early, failing to build up any rhythm in the middle or final thirds. Mexico have been typically robust in defence, winning a number of 50:50 challenges under the nose of the referee.
11 mins: Quinones is a fun player to watch. A real old fashioned No 9 who likes to instigate physical contact, start with his back to goal, and roll defenders. Unfortunately for him, rolling Kim Min-jae is a Sisyphean task.
9 mins: This is being played at a crisp tempo between two teams keen to assert themselves. Both defences are happy to stroke the ball around and bide their time, waiting for the run to be made in front of them. For Korea that outlet is clearly Seol on the left and another long diagonal is aimed in his direction that Alvarado does well to defend.
7 mins: Gutierez now scuffs a shot after a lovely build-up from Mexico on the left involving the raiding Gallardo and Romo.
6 mins: Superb individual duel between Quinones, with his back to goal, and Kim, pressuring from behind, as both teams look to get the ball forward early and profit from the second balls. Mexico get a decent opening with Jimenez working the ball out to the left but the cross is blocked. Alvarado then drags his shot wide from range.
5 mins: Blimey, that is an early yellow card to Lee Kang-in for an innocuous-looking challenge in midfield. He trod on Romo’s foot, the Mexican milked it for all it was worth and the Uruguayan referee brandished a yellow card.
4 mins: Korea have settled the quicker of the two teams, looking to move the ball at pace into wide areas. They are also capable of snapping into tackles in midfield with Hwang and Paik.
2 mins: Korea go long early from the keeper out to Seol on the left, but the wingback was just offside. A good indication of Korea’s versatility.
Kick-off!
The Group A heavyweight title clash is under way…
Anthems sung, fives highed, it’s time to get down to business. Unsurprisingly, the stands are overwhelmingly green as the stadium seats are occupied by fans wearing replica Mexico jerseys.
Here come the two sides out into the Guadalajara evening sunshine. Both teams are wearing absolutely stunning anthem jackets: Korea in a daring floral number designed by Nike, Mexico in a crisp Adidas retro affair with an exaggerated foldover contrast collar.
Both teams are wearing their change kits today. Normally that would irritate me but not tonight as it means we get to enjoy Mexico’s catwalk-ready all-black outfit.
South Korea are in a lavender ensemble I am reliably informed is known as Space Purple. It’s one of those that looks questionable from a distance but improves on closer inspection with nice details and superbly designed logo.
It looks glorious in Zapopan at the moment with evening sunshine and temperature in the mid 20s but there has been rain around and there may be a shower during the match. However, playing in Guadalajara the primary environmental factor is altitude.
Estadio Akron is roughly 1,670 meters (5,480 feet) above sea level. For comparison, the Hawthorns – home of West Bromwich Albion – is the highest ground in English football, and that tops out at just 168 meters (551 feet).
South Korea played their opening match here, and spent their warm-up period acclimatising at altitude in Utah.
I covered South Korea’s opening match and the man that made them tick in my eyes was midfielder Hwang In-beom. Technical, busy, keen to get on the ball in tight areas around the edge of the box and brave with the vertical passes required to unlock organised defences. Very Xavi/Iniesta areas.
This is the second fixture to take place at my favourite venue of the tournament: Estadio Guadalajara.
At 45,000 it is the second smallest arena of the World Cup, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in character.
The design was inspired by a volcano. The exterior features a sloping parkland that rises up to the stadium’s upper levels, with the white roof designed to resemble a cloud hovering over the summit. The seating inside is arranged like a red crater.
Known outside the World Cup as Estadio Akron, it is located in the city of Zapopan, part of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area in the state of Jalisco. It is the home of Liga MX side Chivas De Guadalajara.
Tonights officials are Uruguayan, led by referee Gustavo Tejera.
Back to Jonathan Wilson who has cast his eye over the improving fortunes of Asian nations at the World Cup. South Korea can add an exclamation mark to that discussion with victory in Guadalajara.
The tone was set on day one with South Korea’s victory over Czech Republic. It perhaps shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anybody who saw their qualifying playoff semi-final against Ireland that the Czechs would be so ponderous and lumbering, a side that understood the value of dead balls and long throws and little else. But still, the ease with which South Korea passed their way around them was striking. If Son Heung-min had been the player he was three or four years ago, the Korean victory would have been far more emphatic.
As Matt Hughes reports, protests against World Cup sponsors Hyundai are anticipated before tonight’s match
Hyundai will be targeted by protesters at a rally before the Group A game between Mexico and South Korea in Guadalajara on Thursday, due to the World Cup sponsor’s business dealings with the South American mining company Ternium.
A rally will take place at the Plaza de La Liberación in Guadalajara, to highlight the fate of Mexico’s so-called 130,000 disappeared, some of whom worked in the mining industry.
In very 21st century World Cup news…
Mexican military forces intercepted and brought down a drone that flew near the South Korea team’s training camp as they prepared for their World match against the co-hosts. Military forces used specialised equipment to detect an “unregistered drone” near the camp, prompting them to “neutralise” it, a Mexican federal agent said.
It was not clear if the drone was trying to spy on the South Korean team and the coach, Hong Myung-bo, said: “During our training, there was a drone in the sky,” he said. “But fortunately, it was right before we practised our tactics, so it did not impact us. But while we were preparing for the match, that was the most important timing, so what happened was unfortunate.”
South Korea XI
Just the one change for Hong Myung-bo with Kim Moon-hwan replacing Lee Tae-seok at left wingback.
South Korea (3-4-3): 1 Kim Seung-gyu, 3 Lee Gi-hyuk, 4 Kim Min-jae, 2 Lee Han-beom, 22 Seol Young-woo, 6 Hwang In-beom, 8 Paik Seung-ho, 15 Kim Moon-hwan, 19 Lee Kang-in, 10 Lee Jae-sung, 7 Son Heung-min.
Mexico XI
Javier Aguirre was forced into one change following the red card to Cesar Montes against South Africa. Montes is replaced in the centre of defence by Edson Alvarez. Aguirre has also switched right backs, with Israel Reyes coming in for Jorge Sanchez, and tinkered with his midfield where Alvarao Fidalgo loses out to Luis Romo.
Mexico (4-1-2-3): 1 Rangel; 2 Sanchez, 4 Alvarez, 5 Vasquez, 23 Gallardo; 6 Lira; 26 Gutierrez, 7 Romo Fidalgo; 25 Alvarado, 9 Jimenez, 16 Quinones.
Right, time to train our focus squarely on the biggest match in Group A. Jonathan Wilson sets the scene from Mexico City.
Fans of the two countries have shared a warm relationship since the 2018 World Cup, when South Korea’s unexpected 2-0 victory over Germany in their final group game put Mexico into the last 16. Amid the celebrations in Mexico City, South Korea’s ambassador was carried shoulder-high along the street in front of the embassy as local fans chanted, “¡Coreano, hermano, ya eres mexicano!” – “Korean, brother, you are Mexican now!” The chant has been resurrected in Guadalajara, where South Korea beat Czechia 2-1 in their first group game. When a group of Korean fans visited the wrestling, the arena DJ played Gangnam Style to welcome them. Mexican social media has been flooded with videos of Guadalajarans and Koreans performing PSY’s horse dance together.
Canada have taken a giant step towards the knockout stage with a first World Cup win in the country’s history against an abject nine-man Qatar. However, the host nation’s joy was tempered by a serious-looking injury to Ismael Kone.
Lionel Messi began the World Cup with a brilliant hat-trick but concerns over his father’s health threaten to overshadow his participation.
Lionel Messi’s father is undergoing medical treatment for an undisclosed illness and his family asked the media for “humanity” on Thursday amid rumours about Jorge Messi’s health while his son competes at the World Cup. “Jorge is going through a health situation,” the Messi family said in a statement.
The family did not specify the illness that the 68-year-old Jorge Messi is suffering from. “He is currently under medical observation, recovering and progressing favourably within his current condition,” the statement said.
One round of matches, 24 games, mountains of data. Enjoy the choicest nuggets here, including:
Catch up on all yesterday’s action with Max and the gang in audio-visual format.
The match currently in play is one-way traffic in favour of the tournament hosts against a Qatar side now down to nine men. But the result risks being overshadowed by a horror injury to Canada midfielder Ismael Kone.
In Group B Switzerland took a giant step towards the knockout phase with a 4-1 triumph over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The hype around Johan Manzambi will only heighten after his star turn from the substitutes’ bench helped Switzerland out of a hole and got their tournament truly up and running. The 20-year-old managed to excel for Freiburg in their comprehensive Europa League final defeat against Aston Villa last month and, with 73 minutes played here and three minutes after entering as part of a triple substitution, his superb volley put an end to a sterile contest, hooking a right-foot shot into the Bosnia and Herzegovina net.
Mexico and South Korea would have been delighted with the Group A result earlier in the day with South Africa holding Czechia to a 1-1 draw courtesy of a late penalty.
The decision to award the spot-kick was a clear demonstration the modern handball law is not fit for purpose.
That neither of them got it means both can still go through. A win over South Korea would mean South Africa progress, although a second yellow card means Mokoena will miss the game. A win for Czechia against Mexico would see them through too. Whether either are capable is a different matter.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of match 28 of the 2026 World Cup between Mexico and South Korea. Kick-off in this Group A clash at the Estadio Guadalajara is 7pm local time (9pm EDT/2am BST/11am AEST).
With the first round of fixtures completed, contests containing immediate jeopardy are now upon us. If there is a winner at Estadio Akron that nation will top Group A and take on a third-place side in the round of 32. The loser will still be well placed to progress, but they will face nervy moments in their final group matches.
El Tri did what was required of them on the opening day against South Africa. The Tageuk Warriors showed fortitude in defence and quick feet in attack against Czechia. Both will have to raise their games to earn a positive result this evening.
This pair played out a 2-2 draw as recently as September last year, a game Mexico dominated for large parts but required a stoppage time strike from Santiago Giménez to share the spoils.
This will be the third time these countries have met in the group phase of a World Cup with Mexico proving victorious in both 1998 and 2018.
I’ll be back shortly with team news and a roundup of all the matchday action so far. In the meantime you can keep an eye on Canada v Qatar and email any thoughts about the World Cup to jonathan.howcroft.freelance@theguardian.com.
