Football Results

In the first round, South Korea has not shown anything special and it is not a surprise as well as the fact that they lost to Sweden, even though the result was minimal 1-0, while Mexico created one of the biggest sensations by winning the current world champions, Germans, with the same result. In addition to winning, the Mexicans showed a very likeable game, but it cannot be said that the Mexicans will play good in this World Cup, while the Koreans were named for the outsiders in such a powerful group and there are two more opportunities to still improve the overall impression. The Mexicans in the friendly match in 2014 have mastered South Korea with 4-0, and they celebrated at the World Cup in 1998.

South Korea

When it comes to South Korea, the beginning of the World Cup was not good, but objectively we could not expect much more. Friendly matches after qualifiers have shown numerous weaknesses in the game of this team and it appears they were becoming even worse as the start of the World Cup approached. They only defeated Honduras, and then played a draw with two defeats in the last three friendly matches. And that point was won against the weak Bolivia and after all they could only hope for a sudden improvement for their duel against Sweden. It did not happen and they were completely outplayed, so it can be said that the final 1-0 is even a good result.

The only goal they received from the penalty was in the middle of the second half, however, their strikers did not show much and the biggest star of this team, Son, was the only one who tried something. The biggest surprise was H.W Cho on goal, and Jang did not even expected on the center-back, while everything else was consistent with the announcements. The problem is that J.H Park got injured during the first half and it is possible that he will be replaced by Hong. There may be more changes, considering that  most of the players have completely failed.

Probable lineups South Korea: Cho – Yong Lee, Jang, Y.G Kim, Hong – Ki, J.S Lee, Koo, S.W Kim – Hwang, Son

Mexico

It was known that the Mexicans were coming with great ambitions to this World Cup and that they have one very good team that could reach at least the second round, but it was not expected that they would break down one of the biggest favourites to win the title at the very start. They have defeated the current world champions, Germany, in a great show, in which they were absolutely not afraid of this big opponent and set themselves very bravely. They did not retreat either after they had taken the lead in the first half, and they were able to achieve another goal by the end of the match, but they did have luck in some situations. Of course, it is difficult to overcome Germany, without any opportunity from their rival, however, the overall impression is indeed very good and it is clear that after these three points they are no longer even thinking about whether the Mexicans will go to the knockout phase in this World Cup, and especially achieve some bigger success.

They have the right to hope and they should not relax even against the Koreans, because all but victory could lead to uncertainty. Coach Osorio has made a little surprise by the composition, especially because both dos Santos remained on the bench, even though J.Dos Santos was expected to be part of the starting lineup, however Layun was more offensive and Salcedo was on the right back in defence, while Ayala played with Moreno on the center-back. Chicharito got the advantage at the top of the attack instead of Peralta, while the best in attack was the shooter of the only goal, Lozano. Coach Osorio still has room to perhaps refresh the team a bit, though it is hard to say whether he will change the winning lineup.

Probable lineups Mexico: Ochoa – Salcedo, Ayala, Moreno, Gallardo – Herrera – Guardado, Layun, Vela, Lozano – Chicharito

Verdict:

The Mexicans sould certainly be the favourites against the team of South Korea, but after what they showed in the first round it seems that this role for Mexico is even more pronounced and this team has the opportunity to qualify in the round of sixteen. We do not believe that the Koreans, who have shown a poor game against Sweden, can parry them in this duel.

Pick: Mexico wins 1.74 - 74/100 @1XBet