Mexico vs South Korea, Worldcup 2026 GROUP STAGE
Overview
Match Preview
Mexico vs South Korea — Worldcup at AKRON.
- Mexico 3 games · 9 pts (2026/26)
- South Korea 3 games · 3 pts (2026/26)
Match Details
- Referee Gustavo Tejera (Uruguay)
- Assistant 1 Carlos Barreiro (Uruguay)
- Assistant 2 Nicolas Taran
3 games this season
🟨 1.3/game
⚽ 6.7 goals/game
Standings
| # | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | South Africa | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | South Korea | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Czechia | 3 | 1 |
| 5 | Switzerland | 3 | 7 |
| 6 | Canada | 3 | 4 |
| 7 | Bosnia-Herzegovina | 3 | 4 |
| 8 | Qatar | 3 | 1 |
| 9 | Brazil | 3 | 7 |
| 10 | Morocco | 3 | 7 |
| 11 | Scotland | 3 | 3 |
| 12 | Haiti | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | United States | 3 | 6 |
| 14 | Australia | 3 | 4 |
| 15 | Paraguay | 3 | 4 |
| 16 | Turkey | 3 | 3 |
| 17 | Germany | 3 | 6 |
| 18 | Ivory Coast | 3 | 6 |
| 19 | Ecuador | 3 | 4 |
| 20 | Curaçao | 3 | 1 |
| 21 | Netherlands | 3 | 7 |
| 22 | Japan | 3 | 5 |
| 23 | Sweden | 3 | 4 |
| 24 | Tunisia | 3 | 0 |
| 25 | Belgium | 3 | 5 |
| 26 | Egypt | 3 | 5 |
| 27 | Iran | 3 | 3 |
| 28 | New Zealand | 3 | 1 |
| 29 | Spain | 3 | 7 |
| 30 | Cape Verde Islands | 3 | 3 |
| 31 | Uruguay | 3 | 2 |
| 32 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 2 |
| 33 | France | 3 | 9 |
| 34 | Norway | 3 | 6 |
| 35 | Senegal | 3 | 3 |
| 36 | Iraq | 3 | 0 |
| 37 | Argentina | 3 | 9 |
| 38 | Austria | 3 | 4 |
| 39 | Algeria | 3 | 4 |
| 40 | Jordan | 3 | 0 |
| 41 | Colombia | 3 | 7 |
| 42 | Portugal | 3 | 5 |
| 43 | Congo DR | 3 | 4 |
| 44 | Uzbekistan | 3 | 0 |
| 45 | England | 3 | 7 |
| 46 | Croatia | 3 | 6 |
| 47 | Ghana | 3 | 4 |
| 48 | Panama | 3 | 0 |
Head-to-Head
Last 5 meetings
Recent Form
| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Jun | South Korea | H | 1–0 | W |
| 11 Jun | South Africa | H | 2–0 | W |
| 30 Nov | Saudi Arabia | A | 2–1 | W |
| 26 Nov | Argentina | A | 0–2 | L |
| 22 Nov | Poland | H | 0–0 | D |
| 02 Jul | Brazil | A | 0–2 | L |
Season Stats
| Mexico | South Korea | |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Position | #3 |
| 9 | Points | 3 |
| 3 | Played | 3 |
| 3 / 0 / 0 | W / D / L | 1 / 0 / 2 |
| 6 | Scored | 2 |
| 0 | Conceded | 3 |
| +6 | GD | -1 |
| 3.00 | PPG | 1.00 |
| 100% | Win % | 33% |
Key Stats
50%
Both Teams to Score
H2H (2 games)
H2H (2 games)
50%
Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
H2H history
80%
Clean Sheets
Mexico this season
Mexico this season
0%
Clean Sheets
South Korea this season
South Korea this season
Mexico are 1st (9 pts). South Korea are 3rd (3 pts).
Goal Timing (This Season)
Mexico
0-15
1/–
16-30
1/–
31-45
2/2
46-60
2/1
61-75
3/–
76+
1/–
■ Scored ■ Conceded
South Korea
0-15
–/–
16-30
–/–
31-45
–/–
46-60
–/2
61-75
1/1
76+
1/–
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Top Scorers (This Season)
Mexico
| Julian Quinones | 4 G | 1 A |
| Raul Jimenez | 3 G |
Events
Match Events
- 0' KICK OFF: South Korea gets underway.
- 4' A meaty challenge results in booking for Kang-in Lee on 4.
- 9' It looks like no one’s ball. South Korea is used to counterattacking playing. None of the sides are ready to take the lead.
- 14' Although teams showed high tempo form the start, they seem to slow down a bit. Both sides really need to catch a fire. Otherwise, we have another goalless match.
- 19' Spectators are craving for more action. Both teams play very cautiously. They need to put some more energy.
- 24' Both teams are passing the ball around with high level of urgency. South Korea needs to do something about it to get closer to the goal.
- 29' Erik Lira is putting in a real shift tonight. He has covered more ground than anyone else for South Korea so far.
- 34' We miss some good tackles and strikes. Is there anyone on the field to put the game back to action?
- 39' Both keepers have barely been tested. Mexico and South Korea are cancelling each other out in the centre of the park.
- 44' It is a cagey affair so far. Mexico in their 4-1-2-3 trying to find a way past South Korea's compact 3-4-3.
- 49' Mexico international Edson Alvarez has been a key figure this campaign — 0 goals and 0 assists in the Array this season.
- 50' GOAL! Luis Romo scores on 50.
- 55' The home supporters are growing impatient. Mexico must find a spark to ignite this game.
- 57' South Korea manager makes another effort to make the tables turned. Hwang Heechan is hanging Jae-sung Lee on the field on 57 minute.
- 58' That is a card for South Korea. Seung-Ho Paik will be fuming at that decision.
- 63' South Korea come into this ranked in Array. They desperately need points to push themselves up the standings.
- 68' named a 4-1-2-3 earlier, and opted for a 3-4-3 in response. A fascinating tactical duel is developing.
- 71' Hyun-jun Yang gets the nod from South Korea. He replaces Young-woo Seol and will look to change the dynamic.
- 76' A moment of individual brilliance could settle this. Both teams are waiting for that decisive action.
- 77' Seung-Ho Paik makes way for Gue-Sung Cho at the 77 minute mark. A tactical switch from South Korea.
- 80' Another change for Mexico made on 80 minute. Raul Jimenez leaves to be changed by Santiago Gimenez.
- 84' Mexico manager makes another effort to make the tables turned. Cesar Huerta is hanging Julian Quinones on the field on 84 minute.
- 89' The referee is likely to let players tackle, as he already missed some meaty challenges during opening seconds. He is still to establish what should not be done by the players and what is acceptable on the pitch. It’s going to be a tough game for Seung-Gyu Kim suffering a number of foals already.
- The referee brings this contest to a close. Mexico take all three points.
Lineups
Mexico Lineups
4-1-2-3Starting XI
-
9
Raul Jimenez ↓ Santiago Gimenez 80'
- 4
- 23
-
25
Roberto Alvarado ↓ Israel Reyes 80'
- 2
- 26
- 5
-
7
Luis Romo ↓ Obed Vargas 71'
- 1
- 6
-
16
Julian Quinones ↓ Cesar Huerta 84'
Bench
-
17
Orbelin Pineda ↑ 71'
- 13
-
15
Israel Reyes ↑ 80'
- 8
- 10
-
18
Obed Vargas ↑ 71'
-
11
Santiago Gimenez ↑ 80'
- 24
-
21
Cesar Huerta ↑ 84'
- 20
- 12
- 19
- 14
- 22
Coach
Javier Aguirre
South Korea Lineups
3-4-3Starting XI
- 1
- 4
-
15
Moon-hwan Kim ↓ Ji-sung Eom 71'
- 3
- 2
-
22
Young-woo Seol ↓ Hyun-jun Yang 71'
- 6
-
10
Jae-sung Lee ↓ Hwang Heechan 57'
- 19
-
8
Seung-Ho Paik ↓ Gue-Sung Cho 77'
-
7
Heung-min Son ↓ Hyun-Gyu Oh 57'
Bench
- 21
- 12
- 14
- 5
- 13
- 16
- 17
- 23
- 24
- 26
-
9
Gue-Sung Cho ↑ 77'
-
25
Ji-sung Eom ↑ 71'
-
11
Hwang Heechan ↑ 57'
-
18
Hyun-Gyu Oh ↑ 57'
-
20
Hyun-jun Yang ↑ 71'
Coach
Hong Myungbo
H2H
H2H Top Scorers
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Javier Hernandez | 1 |
| Carlos Vela | 1 |
| Son Heungmin | 1 |
| Javier Hernandez | 1 |
| Carlos Vela | 1 |
| Son Heungmin | 1 |
| Luis Romo | 1 |
Mexico Form
Predictions
Prediction accuracy
4 / 4
1.54
Mexico xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
0.3
South Korea xG
I would bet for:
Under — clean sheet likely 79% + Under 2.5 goals 72%
Match Result
✓ CorrectActual: Mexico win
Both Teams to Score
✓ Correct
Avg goals/match: 1.84
Actual: No — clean sheet
Over / Under Goals
✓ O/U 2.5| Line | Over | Under | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ± 0.5 | 82% |
|
18% |
| ± 1.5 | 54% |
|
46% |
| ± 2.5 | 28% |
|
72% |
| ± 3.5 | 12% |
|
88% |
| ± 4.5 | 5% |
|
95% |
Double Chance
Mexico or Draw
90%
Draw or South Korea
35%
Mexico or South Korea
75%
Half-Time Result
✓ CorrectActual: Draw at HT
Correct Score
✓ In top 12
1 – 0
Actual
2 – 0
18.1%
0 – 0
18%
3 – 0
9.1%
1 – 1
7.6%
2 – 1
5.7%
0 – 1
3.7%
4 – 0
3.5%
3 – 1
3.1%
4 – 1
1.3%
5 – 0
1.1%
1 – 2
1%
Asian Handicap — Mexico
| Handicap | Mexico covers | Push | South Korea covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| -2.5 | 16% | — | 84% |
| -2 | 16% | 21% | 62% |
| -1.5 | 38% | — | 62% |
| -1 | 38% | 30% | 32% |
| -0.5 | 68% | — | 32% |
| +0.5 | 94% | — | 6% |
| +1 | 94% | 5% | 1% |
| +1.5 | 99% | — | 1% |
| +2 | 99% | 1% | 0% |
| +2.5 | 100% | — | 0% |
Clean Sheet
Mexico keeps clean sheet
74%
✓
South Korea keeps clean sheet
22%
✓
Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.