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Thursday night felt special at the majestic Guadalajara Stadium. Filled with Mexican faithful, including the city’s boxing legend, Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez, and the traditional song Cielito Lindo playing throughout the night, Mexico became the first team to reach the knockout rounds of the World Cup.
But it wasn’t easy. The second half became increasingly anxious for Mexico as South Korea pushed for an equalizer. But El Tri held on until they became the first team to seal their place in the round of 32 and also advanced as first in the group.
It was an improvement on the opening victory against South Africa, but again, despite the victory, I would say it was not a classic and Mexico coach Javier Aguirre will be looking for more guile in the round of 16.
But you know what? Do Mexico fans care? No. The team is first in the standings and on its way to the round of 32.
Here are my conclusions.
1. Mexico still needs more creativity…
For most of the match, both sides struggled to create almost anything. It was due to opposing philosophies.
Mexico looked to its midfield for creative answers, especially with Roberto Alvarado acting as the desired architect, but South Korea’s greatest strength is cohesively pressing and intoxicating the midfield. As a result, Mexico could not get any rhythm.
On the other hand, South Korea looked to surprise Mexico’s defensive line with quick runs and using Son Heung-min as much as possible, but he too struggled.
After 45 minutes, the crowd booed as they saw little progress and the host team knew it had to improve. South Korea, however, was absolutely fine with the outcome of the first half, knowing that the more they frustrated Mexico, the more restless they would become.
In the second half, Mexico continued to press. As a result, the match began with the South Korean players dealing with tired legs and a big mistake by the goalkeeper. But Mexico needs to be a multifunctional advance.
2. …But this trio from Mexico was excellent
After a cautious start, the goal came in the 50th minute thanks to South Korean stopper Seung-Gyu Kim, who made a terrible mistake when he collided with his own defender after trying to retain the ball after a cross, but he dropped it and Luis Romo took advantage.
Romo was excellent in the stadium where his club’s game is played. The Chivas midfielder, who can also play as a center back, demonstrated his versatility. But against South Korea it was his experience that showed today, as he read the game very well in midfield.
Edson Áxlvarez was also very good. The former West Ham player, now at Fenerbahçe, had to come on tonight as a centre-back to replace the suspended César Montes after being sent off against South Africa. Álvarez had a very good performance, directing the game and protecting the Mexico area with confidence.
He even made an acrobatic save that probably would have been a top 10 moment of that tournament after Son’s attempt in the first half, when the ball went over the goalkeeper. He was offside, but Álvarez didn’t know it. Anyway, it was a wonderful authorization.
Finally, a shout-out to stopper Raúl “Tala” Rangel, who had his moment at the World Cup when he made an instinctive stop to deny an attempt to come off the line with one hand. It was a huge moment that left him needing attention for a few minutes. He was good and, most importantly, he protected his team’s leadership and victory.
3. Raúl Jiménez needs more support
I understand why Aguirre opts for a lone striker, because his mentality is to create solidity from midfield and create opportunities from wide areas, hoping that Jiménez, a prolific threat in the air, will dispose of them. This works against weak opposition, but South Korea are intelligent, able to read the gamelan, and South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo simply needed his two centre-backs to keep up with the 35-year-old striker, who is not the fastest man by any means.
(Photo by CARL DE SOUZA / AFP via Getty Images)
Looking ahead, Aguirre should start thinking about using two forwards or at least having an attacking midfielder closer to the last striker to destabilize the opponent. You have options. Julián Quiñones, Santiago Giménez or even “Memote” Martínez could appear even higher. But given that Mexico has now topped the group and secured its ticket to the round of 32, I expect Aguirre to modify his formation.
4. Unfortunately, Sonny is no longer as effective.
(Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Like my point of view on Jiménez, the same goes for the iconic Son Heung-min, who at 33 years old is not as electric on the international stage as he once was. The current LAFC star and Tottenham legend had a relatively early exit after 57 minutes of action. After a bad first game against Czechia, where he also came on in the 62nd minute for Hwang Hee-chan, it is clear that he also needs a closer teammate to be able to contribute more.
4 ½. What’s next?
Mexico, now the group winner, returns to Mexico on Wednesday and faces Czechia. He also knows that his round of 32 match against one of the eight third-place teams that advance will also be in CDMX. As for South Korea, the team still has a lot to play for as they aim to finish in second place, facing South Africa in Monterrey on Wednesday.
