Mexico vs South Korea Preview

Friday’s early-hours Group A showdown at Estadio Akron pits Mexico against South Korea in what promises to be one of the most compelling fixtures of the tournament so far. Mexico arrive as the group leaders with three points, while South Korea sit level on points alongside them — and the result here could set the tone for who controls Group A heading into the final round of fixtures.

Mexico have been in outstanding form in the build-up to this tournament. Their most recent outing produced a 2-0 victory over South Africa in their opening World Cup fixture on 11th June. Prior to that, they beat Serbia 5-1 at home in a pre-tournament friendly. Before that, a 1-0 home win over Australia, and earlier in this run a 2-0 victory at home to Ghana. The oldest result in this sequence was a 1-1 draw at home to Belgium. El Tri have been prolific in front of goal and carry genuine threat across all areas of the pitch, with their forward line in particularly sharp form.

South Korea arrive with their own momentum. Their most recent outing was a 2-1 victory over Czech Republic in their opening group game on 12th June. Prior to that, they won 1-0 at home to El Salvador. Before that, a convincing 5-0 home win over Trinidad and Tobago. Earlier in this run, they suffered a 1-0 defeat away to Austria, and in their oldest result here they lost 0-4 at home to Ivory Coast. The Taeguk Warriors have shown they can beat quality opposition, and their front line will cause Mexico significant problems.

The head-to-head record is remarkably even across the last five meetings, with Mexico winning two, South Korea winning two and one match drawn. Most recently, Mexico hosted South Korea in September 2025 and the two sides shared a 2-2 draw at home. In the previous encounter, Mexico won 3-2 at home in November 2020.

Both sides are on three points and separated only by goal difference — Mexico sit top on +2, South Korea second on +1. A win for either side moves them to six points and all but secures top spot, while a draw leaves the group wide open heading into the final fixtures.

In the UK, this match is live on ITV 1 and available to stream via ITVX. In the United States, viewers can watch on FOX Network or fuboTV. South Korean fans can follow the action on KBS2 Korea or via Naver, while Mexican viewers can tune in on ViX Mexico.

Lineups & Injuries

Mexico (4-1-4-1) Rangel, Reyes, Montes, Alvarado, Lira, Gutiérrez, Vásquez, Fidalgo, Gallardo, Quiñones, Jiménez

South Korea (3-4-2-1) Kim, Lee, Kim, Lee, Lee, Paik, Hwang, Lee, Seol, Son, Son

Group A Table

Pos	Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	P
1	Mexico	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	3
2	Korea Republic	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	3
3	Czech Republic	1	0	0	1	1	2	-1	0
4	South Africa	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2	0

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Mexico Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
✅	Mexico	2-0	South Africa	World Cup	11.06.26
✅	Mexico	5-1	Serbia	Friendly	05.06.26
✅	Mexico	1-0	Australia	Friendly	31.05.26
✅	Mexico	2-0	Ghana	Friendly	23.05.26
🤝	Mexico	1-1	Belgium	Friendly	01.04.26

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South Korea Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
✅	South Korea	2-1	Czech Republic	World Cup	12.06.26
✅	South Korea	1-0	El Salvador	Friendly	04.06.26
✅	South Korea	5-0	Trinidad & Tobago	Friendly	31.05.26
❌	Austria	1-0	South Korea	Friendly	31.03.26
❌	South Korea	0-4	Ivory Coast	Friendly	28.03.26

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Head-to-Head

Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
Mexico	2-2	South Korea	Friendly	10.09.25
Mexico	3-2	South Korea	Friendly	14.11.20
South Korea	1-2	Mexico	World Cup	23.06.18
Mexico	4-0	South Korea	Friendly	30.01.14
Mexico	0-1	South Korea	Friendly	15.02.06

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TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel
Great Britain	ITV 1 UK, ITVX, TalkSport Radio UK
Ireland	ITV 1 UK, RTE 2, ITVX, RTE Player
USA	FOX Network, fuboTV, Telemundo
Mexico	ViX Mexico
Korea Republic	KBS2 Korea, Naver
France	M6, M6+, beIN Sports 1
Germany	MagentaTV, ORF eins, SRF zwei
Australia	SBS, SBS On Demand
Canada	TSN1, TSN+, RDS
Japan	DAZN Japan