FIFA World Cup 2026 co-host Mexico has made it to the Round of 32 by defeating South Korea 1-0. Mexico is the first team to reach the knockout stage of this tournament. Romo took advantage of a lapse in South Korea’s defense and scored the decisive goal. When the match was going on a goalless draw, in the 58th minute of the game, there was a collision between South Korea’s goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu and defender Lee Gi-hyuk, and the ball was left inside the penalty area. Romo had this golden opportunity and he easily put the ball into the empty net and scored.
South Korea almost equalized in the 87th minute but Mexico goalkeeper Raul Rangel made two brilliant saves to avert the danger. He first blocked Cho Gwe-sung’s header from close range and then did an even better job of keeping out Yang Hyun-joon’s effort on the rebound. This was a big victory for Mexico, which was out of the group stage in the 2022 World Cup. It achieved its second consecutive win in front of the home crowd and entered the next round.
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Mexico qualified with 6 points
Mexico secured its place at the top of Group A by securing six points from two matches. It is now ahead of South Korea by three points. Whereas Czech Republic and South Africa are five points behind. Czech Republic and South Africa had earlier played their match 1-1 draw in Atlanta. The top-2 teams of each group along with the best eight third-placed teams will enter the knockout stage. The Round of 32 will be played for the first time in the World Cup after the number of teams in the tournament was increased to 48.
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Canada is also almost in knockout…
Another co-host has almost confirmed his place in the Round of 32. On Wednesday (June 18), Canada defeated Qatar 6-0. This was his first win in World Cup history. With this historic win they almost ensured their place in the knockout round. Jonathan David scored an excellent hat-trick. Two Qatari players received red cards, due to which their team was reduced to 9 players. Canada took full advantage of this and won big in front of the home crowd. Earlier, Switzerland defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-1. Switzerland also has 4 points as many as Canada. These two teams from Group B are contenders to reach the knockout.
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