Result Mexico - South Korea, Thursday, 18 June 2026, World Cup Group A

Mexico triumphed over South Korea in the Group A match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The game took place at Guadalajara Stadium (Estadio Akron) in Guadalajara, Mexico, where enthusiastic fans showed their unwavering support for the home team. Both teams entered this match after securing victories in their opening games.

Mexico clinched a 1-0 victory, thanks to a goal from Luis Romo, allowing them to take the lead in Group A and progress to the round of 32. Mexico is the first team in the tournament to achieve this milestone. As of Matchday 2, Mexico has accumulated 6 points, while South Korea remains at 3 points.

👉     Santiago Gimenez of AC Milan came on as a substitute in the 80th minute, taking the place of Raúl Jiménez.  On the other hand, Johan Vasquez, the defender from Genoa, played the full match.

Simply put, this win represents a significant achievement for a team that couldn't progress beyond the group stage in 2022, and now they have celebrated two victories on their home turf in front of their fans.

Luis Romo found the back of the net in the 50th minute after a collision between South Korea's goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu and defender Lee Gi-hyuk caused the ball to drop in the area. Romo took advantage of the situation and easily scored into the open net.

Mexico faced a scare when South Korea almost equalized in the 87th minute. A stunning save by Mexico's goalkeeper Raúl Rangel denied a close-range header from Cho Gue-sung, and he followed it up with an even more impressive save against Yang Hyun-jun’s rebound attempt, stretching out his right arm to prevent the ball from crossing the line. What a thrilling moment! Ultimately, Mexico secured the win.

FIFA RANKING

Mexico is ranked 13th, and South Korea is ranked 22nd in the latest FIFA Men's World Rankings.

👉   2 Serie A players called up for  🇲🇽  the Mexico National team:

• AC Milan Santiago Gimenez, he started playing from the 80th minute, replacing Raúl Jiménez.


• Genoa defender Johan Vasquez.

✅    Serie A players called up for  🇰🇷  the Korea Republic National team World Cup 2026:

• None

👉   Click here for  Full 2026 World Cup Squad Lists – Confirmed rosters for all 48 teams.

👉  Click here for  2026 World Cup Group Stage Standings.



 

🇲🇽 Mexico 1 – 0 South Korea Republic 🇰🇷

⚽️ In the 50th minute, Luis Romo scored a goal! The opportunity arose from an unforced mistake when South Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu rushed off his line and collided with his teammate Lee Gi-hyuk, losing possession of the ball. Romo took advantage of this and easily placed it into the open net.



 



 

A super save denying Korea's an equalizer goal.



 

Statistics BEFORE the game



 

   Mexico National World Cup 2026 Squad:

• Goalkeepers: Raul Rangel (Guadalajara), Guillermo Ochoa (AEL Limassol), Carlos Acevedo (Santos Laguna)


• Defenders: Jorge Sanchez (PAOK), Israel Reyes (Club America), Cesar Montes (Lokomotiv Moscow), Johan Vasquez (Genoa), Jesus Gallardo (Toluca), Mateo Chavez (AZ)


• Midfielders: Erik Lira (Cruz Azul), Orbelin Pineda (AEK Athens), Alvaro Fidalgo (Real Betis), Roberto Alvarado, Brian Gutierrez, Luis Romo (Guadalajara), Edson Alvarez (West Ham), Obed Vargas (Atletico Madrid), Gilberto Mora (Tijuana), Luis Chavez (Dynamo Moscow)


• Forwards: Cesar Huerta (Anderlecht), Alexis Vega (Toluca), Julian Quinones (Al-Qadsiah), Guillermo Martinez (UNAM), Armando Gonzalez (Guadalajara), Santiago Gimenez (AC Milan), Raul Jimenez (Fulham)

   Korea Republic World Cup 2026 Squad: 

• Goalkeepers: Song Bumkeun (Jeonbuk), Jo Hyeonwoo (Ulsan), Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo)


• Defenders: Jens Castrop (Borussia Monchengladbach), Lee Hanbeom (Midtjylland), Park Jinseob (Zhejiang FC), Lee Kihyuk (Gangwon), Kim Minjae (Bayern Munich), Kim Moonhwan (Daejeon), Kim Taehyeon (Kashima Antlers), Lee Taeseok (Austria Wien), Seol Youngwoo (Crvena Zvezda), Cho Yumin (Sharjah)


• Midfielders: Lee Donggyeong (Ulsan), Hwang Heechan (Wolves), Yang Hyunjun (Celtic), Hwang Inbeom (Feyenoord), Lee Jaesung (FSV Mainz), Kim Jingyu (Jeonbuk), Eom Jisung (Swansea), Bae Junho (Stoke), Lee Kangin (PSG), Paik Seungho (Birmingham)


• Forwards: Cho Guesung (Midtjylland), Son Heungmin (LAFC), Oh Hyeongyu (Besiktas)

World Cup debutants! 🏆

4 players made their first appearance on the biggest stage tonight in Guadalajara: Santi Gimenez, Luis Romo, Cesar Huerta and Obed Vargas. 🔥🇲🇽

A night that will remain forever in their memory! 🌙#SomosMéxico 💚 pic.twitter.com/2WCCOWhm1z

— Mexican National Team (@miseleccionmxEN) June 19, 2026

 

The reactions after the match....

 



 

 



 

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World Cup Group A Matchday 2

🇲🇽  Mexico 1 - 0 South Korea Republic  🇰🇷

Date: Thursday, June 18, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM PT / 9:00 PM ET (Local time is 7:00 PM CST)
Stadium: Estadio Guadalajara (Estadio Akron)
Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico

Referee: Gustavo Tejera URU
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Barreiro URU
Assistant Referee 2: Nicolas Taran URU
Fourth Official: Andres Rojas COL
Reserve AR: Alexander Guzman COL

⚽️ Goals:  50' Luis Romo (M)

🟨 Yellow Cards:  4' Kang-In Lee (K), 57' Seung-Ho Paik (K)

✅ Official lineups - Tabellino:

Mexico official lineup: Raúl Rangel, Jorge Sánchez, Edson Álvarez, Johan Vásquez, Jesús Gallardo; Luis Romo, Érik Lira, Brian Gutiérrez; Roberto Alvarado, Raúl Jiménez, Julián Quiñones

Substitutes: C. Acevedo, F. Ochoa, I. Reyes, A. Fidalgo, O. Pineda, G. Mora, L. Chavez, A. Vega, Santiago Gimenez, A. Gonzalez, O. Vargas, G. Martinez, C. Huerta



 

Click the video to watch Mexico 1 - 0 South Korea highlights on Thursday, 18 June 2026