Mexico has made World Cup history. With a 1-0 win over South Korea on Thursday night in Zapopan, the host nation became the first team to clinch a spot in the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup, the newly expanded 48-team tournament being staged across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The decisive moment came in the 50th minute, when South Korea goalkeeper Kim Seung-Gyu collided with defender Lee Gi-Hyuk inside the penalty area and spilled the ball into the path of Mexico midfielder Luis Romo, who calmly slotted it into the empty net. It was the kind of fortunate break that can define a World Cup campaign, and Mexico made the most of it, holding firm for the remainder of the match to seal all three points.
The result gives Mexico six points from two Group A matches, three clear of South Korea and five ahead of Czechia and South Africa, who played out a 1-1 draw earlier in the day in Atlanta. With a game against Czechia still to come, Mexico has already secured top spot in the group, a remarkable turnaround after failing to advance past the group stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Mexico coach Javier Aguirre struck a measured tone after the win, acknowledging that his side did not produce its most fluid performance. He noted that South Korea limited Mexico’s chances for long stretches, but credited his team for capitalizing on its opportunities, including the goal off the goalkeeping error and a couple of other openings created over the course of the match.
South Korea nearly snatched a late equalizer in the 87th minute, when forward Cho Gue-Sung rose to meet a header from close range, only to be denied by a sharp save from Mexico goalkeeper Raul Rangel. The rebound fell kindly for South Korea once more, but Rangel reacted quickly, extending his arm to keep the ball from crossing the line and preserving the clean sheet that secured Mexico’s place among the World Cup’s first qualifiers for the round of 32.
For South Korea, the defeat is a setback in a World Cup campaign that already features one of the tournament’s most recognizable stars, Son Heung-Min. The 33-year-old, now playing his club football with LAFC after years at Tottenham, was substituted in the 57th minute following another quiet outing. Son entered this World Cup with three goals across three previous tournaments and remains in search of the moments that could make him South Korea’s all-time leading World Cup scorer.
South Korea coach Hong Myung-Bo called the goalkeeping mistake unfortunate but urged his players to regroup quickly. He pointed to the team’s final group match as a chance to respond, noting that despite Thursday’s disappointment, South Korea, appearing in its 11th consecutive World Cup, still controls its own destiny heading into the last round of group play.
This World Cup marks the first edition to feature a round of 32, a product of the tournament’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams. The top two finishers in each group advance automatically, joined by the eight best third-place teams, meaning the path to the knockout stage is wider than ever but no less competitive.
For Mexico, Thursday’s win carries extra symbolic weight. It was the team’s first-ever World Cup victory on home soil outside Mexico City, breaking new ground in Guadalajara before a sellout crowd of 45,522. Ranked 13th in the world, Mexico now appears poised to carry momentum into the knockout stage of the World Cup, with the possibility of playing its next two, and potentially three, matches in front of its own fans.
