3 things Mexico got right in their 2-1 win over Korea Republic

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Chicharito celebrates after extending Mexico's lead

Mexico proved that the exhilarating performance they put on show against Germany wasn't a one-off as they rode past the Korea Republic and across the finishing line with a convincing 2-1 victory.

Carlos Vela opened the scoring for Mexico in the 28th minute after Lee handled Guardado's cross from the left side of the box. Mexico would then see out some relentless attacking from Korea, which, unfortunately, lacked sharpness in the final third, before Hirving Lozano took charge of a counter attack and fed Javier Hernandez who made no mistake as he slotted home past Cho Hyun-Woo.

Son scored one of the goals of the tournament, 3 minutes into stoppage time with a left-footed belter but it came too late for the Tottenham man and co.

Mexico have virtually qualified for the knockouts after winning both their matches and will now face Sweden in the third round of the opening stage matches.

Osorio's men have every right to feel confident as they look to spring more surprises in this already exciting World Cup campaign of theirs.

Without further ado, let's take a look at 3 things Mexico got right in their 2-0 win over the Korea Republic.


#3 Came out of the initial Korean surge unscathed

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The Koreans came out swinging

Korea showed up at the Rostov Arena, ready to take on this exciting Mexican team that saw off Germany in a shocking result last week. They were decided in their quest to deny the Mexicans space and time to break into their groove from the get-go.

Moon Seon-Min, Lee Jae-Sung, Hwang Hee-Chan and Son did not give the Mexican defenders a moment's peace to pick out a pass and get the counter going. But Osorio's men more than proved that they are equal to the task.

Despite the heavy press that was limiting space on the field and time on the ball, Mexico still managed to pass their way out from the back and create a few chances of their own. But the most important thing was that they remained resolute at the back and at times, they even took the game to their Asian opponents to ensure that they came out of the initial energy surge unscathed.

Once they were done negotiating with the buzzing Korea Republic players in the first 20 minutes or so, the game was theirs for the taking and they grabbed it by the scruff of its neck.

#2 The defenders and the central midfielders put their foot down

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Herrera put in yet another strong performance from defensive midfield

Salcedo and Moreno were calm and composed on the ball and were meticulous with their passing as Mexico tried to build from behind. They were also brave and were hurling their bodies in front of the several shots that the Korean frontline kept bunging on goal.

To add to the Korean Republic's misery, Guardado and Hector Herrera had a field day at the centre of the park. Guardado forayed forward incessantly and was involved in almost everything good that worked out for the Mexicans in their attacking third.

Meanwhile, Hector Herrera proved that there are few distributors of the ball from a deep-lying midfield position as he kept picking out Layoun and Lozano with some diagonal balls that just couldn't have been better served.

#1 Keeping their counter-attacking threat intact

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Lozano and Mexico combined to great effect to extend Mexico's lead

The way the Mexicans countered against Germany caught many by surprise. They were picking their passes in the final third and their measured approach which still came by at breakneck speed, most of the time, unsettled the Korean defence and even led to their second goal, which sealed the game in their favour.

Mexico broke with supreme intent for the second goal. The electric Lozano ran superbly at the Korean box and then fed Hernandez on the left. The former United striker sat Jang down and sent him sliding into Seoul, before slipping the ball past Jo with a lovely finish. That was Chicharito's 50th goal for his nation.

Though Son pulled one back for the Koreans in the 90 + 3rd minute of the game, his teammates were already running on fumes after having to deal with the rampant Mexicans on a humid afternoon in the Rostov Arena.

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Edited by Amit Mishra