FIFA World Cup 2026: Mexico beat South Korea 1-0 as Romo's strike sends El Tri into knockout stage

Mexico booked their spot in the FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout stage with a hard-fought 1-0 win against South Korea. The victory at Estadio Akron secured their place in the Round of 32 and continued their strong start to the tournament.

Luis Romo netted the only goal of the match five minutes after halftime. The Mexican midfielder capitalized on a mistake by South Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-Gyu, who failed to handle a routine aerial ball, allowing Romo to calmly chip it into the empty net. This marked Romo's first goal in a major international competition.

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Kim Seung-Gyu failed to hold onto a routine aerial ball inside his own box, gifting Luis Romo an opportunity that the Mexican midfielder gratefully accepted.

The match itself was cautious, particularly in the first half, with both teams hesitant to take significant risks. Mexico had the better chances before the break, but South Korea's Kim Seung-Gyu made a sharp save to deny Julian Quinones. South Korea's captain Son Heung-min also had a brief threat, though it was ruled offside.

South Korea struggled to generate attacking urgency for much of the game. As the match neared its end, they applied pressure, with substitute Cho Gue-sung coming closest to an equalizer, but his effort was brilliantly saved by Mexican goalkeeper Raul Rangel. The win extends Mexico's perfect World Cup record against Asian opponents to six victories.

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His close-range effort was brilliantly denied by Mexican goalkeeper Raul Rangel.