GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Tournament co-hosts Mexico have officially become the first nation to qualify for the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a hard-fought 1-1 group trajectory culminated in a 1-0 victory over South Korea at the Guadalajara Stadium.
The narrow triumph on Thursday night ensures that El Tri seals the ultimate top spot in Group A with a game to spare, allowing them to approach their final group fixture without qualification pressure.
Okay News sports reports that the game’s turning point arrived in the 50th minute when a catastrophic goalkeeping error broke the scoreless deadlock. South Korean goalkeeper Seung-gyu Kim momentarily caught a routine cross inside a crowded penalty box but watched the ball slip directly through his fingers, allowing predatory Mexican midfielder Luis Romo to pounce and stab it into the back of the net. While the home crowd had previously booed Mexico’s sluggish first-half display, the unexpected breakthrough completely altered the tactical momentum in Guadalajara.
South Korea pushed aggressively for an equalizer late in the second half, heavily restricting the home side’s possession. The Asian powerhouse created the cleaner opportunities, accumulating a superior 0.69 to 0.48 expected goals (xG) rating, but was denied a share of the points in the 87th minute when 26-year-old Mexican goalkeeper Raúl Rangel pulled off a spectacular reflex stop on the goal-line to thwart Gue-sung Cho’s close-range effort. With South Africa and Czechia playing out a 1-1 draw earlier in the day, Mexico remains completely out of reach at the top of the standings ahead of their clash with Czechia, while South Korea faces a must-win encounter against Bafana Bafana to preserve their Round-of-32 hopes.
