Mexico wins against South Korea; advances to round of 32

Thousands of people gathered across different sections of Greater Los Angeles to watch the victory of Mexico against South Korea 1-0 in the FIFA Men’s World Cup. The teams played at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico. 

El Tri, as the Mexico National Team is known, is the first team in Group A to advance to the knockout stage or round of 32. This is the first time that the FIFA World Cup features 48 teams instead of 32. 

The only goal of the match was scored by Luis Romo at minute 50 after goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu dropped the ball inside the area and collided with defender Lee Gi-hyuk. This gave Romo the perfect opportunity to kick the loose ball and score. 

The Akron stadium erupted in cheers, the same as all Mexico fans across the globe. In Los Angeles, social media videos showed the celebration from Seoul Park in Koreatown to First Street in Boyle Heights, Veterans Park in Bell Gardens and Pine and Broadway in Long Beach. 

Earlier in the day, a group of Mexico fans who were getting out of the SoFi Stadium after watching the Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Switzerland said they were very excited to watch the Mexico game. 

“2-1 [Mexico] will win tonight,” said one of them. “Two to zero,” guessed another one. 

While none of them guessed the right score, the group did guess it right that Mexico would win. 

The stress is not over

In the second half the South Korean team almost equalized the score when Mexico goalkeeper Raúl Rangel stopped a header from close range by Cho Gue-sung, then made an even better save of Yang Hyun-jun's attempt on the rebound, extending his right arm to keep the ball from crossing the line.

“We've been doing very well,” Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said. “It wasn’t a great match, but I think that our opponent didn’t let us do too much. But we still were able to score, on that mistake, in addition to another two or three opportunities.”

Aguirre said it felt good for the players to guarantee their spot in the next round back in Mexico City.

“It relieves some of the pressure,” he said. “But not for me, for the players. They are euphoric, they are very happy.”

The next game will be Mexico v. Czech Republic on Wednesday at Estadio Azteca. Meanwhile South Korea will play against South Africa in Monterey, Mexico.

Mexico won Group A with six points in two matches, three more than South Korea and five more than the Czech Republic and South Africa, who drew 1-1 earlier Thursday in Atlanta.

With AP information.