They were cagey, at times ugly, but they got the job done. Mexico needed a blunder from the South Korean goalkeeper to get the solitary goal but the cheers from the fans at the Guadalajara Stadium at full time showed how little the performance mattered compared to the 1-0 result, which made the World Cup co-hosts the first team to qualify for the knockouts.
Just under an hour earlier, some of the Mexican players looked rather befuddled at the chorus of boos that came from the same stands at half-time. But it was no secret they would take the pragmatic route to get the desired outcome.
“At a World Cup, the team that plays the prettiest football does not always win. The team that knows how to compete does,” Mexico manager Javier Aguirre had said in the run-up to the tournament.
The difference between the two halves was the scoreline, which read 0-0 at half-time, and a lack of urgency in the first period. There was just one save to show in that opening half and an xG (expected goals) of 0.11 for both sides at the end of it, which implies a cagey snoozefest. As they walked off the field to boos at the interval, it would be safe to assume that at least some of those Mexican players were wishing that the South Korean goalkeeper had just dropped the ball at their feet at some point in that first half so they could score.
Well, that is exactly what happened just five minutes into the second half.
A cross that came from the right in the 50th minute was headed straight up in the air by Raul Jimenez. Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu came out to collect the ball but it spilled out of his gloves when he collided with Jimenez and his own teammate Lee Gi-hyuk. It fell kindly to the feet of Luis Romo, who plies his trade for local club CD Guadalajara, and he made no mistake turning the ball into the unguarded goal.
Playing safe
Mexico went back to their default set-up of sitting back, just as they had done after the hydration break in the first half. But now, thy had a lead to defend. No boos or whistles came from the stands this time because the home fans knew that a second successive win would confirm Mexico as group winners. They cheered every time a Korean chance was smothered, and even more when the ball was brought out of the Mexican half for increasingly rare counter-attacks.
The biggest cheer of all, before the one at the full-time whistle, came in the 87th minute when Mexican goalkeeper Raul Rangel put his body on the line to protect the lead with a double save.
For all the possession South Korea had – 64 percent in the second half and 53 percent in the first – this was the only time they had troubled Rangel to this extent.
Eom Ji-Sung’s cross from the left was met by Cho Gue-Sung with a header. It was too close to Rangel, who did well to repel the ball. Cho flicked the ball right back towards goal on the rebound, but Rangel was alert to it. He dove to his left from a prone position and somehow managed to hold on to the ball.