Preview: Mexico vs South Korea - prediction, team news, lineups

As round two of World Cup 2026 gets underway, co-hosts Mexico will face South Korea at Estadio Akron on Friday for what could be the decisive clash in Group A.

Both El Tri and the Taeguk Warriors were victorious in their opening fixtures, but they are set for tough tests this week.

Match preview

Javier Aguirre's Mexico arrived at this summer's tournament in strong form, and the manager will be delighted that his team were able to carry that momentum into their first fixture.

El Tri kicked off the World Cup by beating 2010 hosts South Africa 2-0 on Thursday, thanks to an early effort from Julian Quinones and a second-half sealer from Raul Jimenez.

That victory - which was Mexico's first ever on matchday one of a World Cup - has put them at the top of the pile in Group A, and they will be desperate to stay there on Friday.

South Korea represent stern opposition, but after an impressive run of seven wins and two draws from their last nine games, Aguirre's side will be confident of success.

Adding to that optimism is the fact that Mexico have kept three clean sheets from their four most recent outings, though it remains to be seen how much of an impact centre-back Cesar Montes's suspension will have on the defence.

Meanwhile, Hong Myung-Bo's South Korea also made a dream start to World Cup 2026, collecting all three points in their 2-1 win against the Czech Republic last week.

The Taeguk Warriors found themselves a goal down around the hour mark when Ladislav Krejci headed home a long throw from former West Ham star Vladimir Coufal, but Feyenoord's Hwang In-Beom netted an equaliser eight minutes later before assisting Oh Hyeon-Gyu's winner.

That turnaround will give Hong's men hope that they can overcome any setbacks they may face on Friday, when they are up against the co-hosts on home soil.

Coming from behind in their opener also extended South Korea's winning streak to three matches, and considering that they have won six of their last eight games overall, supporters will be expecting their team to be competitive this week.

The Taeguk Warriors have not beaten Mexico since a 1-0 victory in February 2006 - losing three times and drawing once in the aftermath - but their most recent meeting ended 2-2 back in September 2025, and required a 94th-minute equaliser from Santiago Gimenez to level the score for El Tri.

Mexico World Cup form:

Mexico form (all competitions):

South Korea World Cup form:

South Korea form (all competitions):

Team News

Mexico will be without Lokmotiv Moskow centre-back Cesar Montes on Friday, after he was sent off against South Africa, so the versatile Edson Alvarez could be stationed in the co-hosts' defensive line.

Elsewhere, left-winger Julian Quinones scored the opener last time out, but he 'asked to be substituted' and was 'limping' late on in the game according to manager Aguirre.

The Al-Qadisah star may start this week but he is a doubt, and Alexis Vega will be on standby to feature out wide for El Tri.

As for South Korea, they may be missing attacking midfielder Bae Jun-Ho of Stoke City, as he builds fitness after recovering from an ankle issue.

Likewise, centre-back Kim Tae-Hyeon has returned to team training after suffering an ankle injury, but he is unlikely to make the XI on Friday, so Lee Gi-Hyuk looks set to continue on the left of a defensive trio alongside Kim Min-Jae and Lee Han-Beom.

Mexico possible starting lineup:

Rangel; Reyes, Alvarez, Vasquez, Gallardo; Lira; Alvarado, Gutierrez, Fidalgo, Quinones; Jimenez

South Korea possible starting lineup:

S Kim; H Lee, M Kim, G Lee; Seol, Hwang, Paik, T Lee; K Lee, J Lee; Son

We say: Mexico 2-2 South Korea

After winning their opener against South Africa, Mexico will be hoping to deliver another strong performance on home soil, but they face much tougher opposition this time around.

South Korea showed resilience to come from behind against the Czech Republic, and after coming close to beating El Tri back in September, they are likely to be part of an intense contest once again on Friday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.