World Cup: After 'massive confidence booster' from first win, South Korea targets victory over Mexico

World Cup: After 'massive confidence booster' from first win, South Korea targets victory over Mexico With home advantage and fervent support, Mexico seems to be the favourite for the top-of-the-group clash against South Korea. CNA's Matthew Mohan is in Guadalajara ahead of the match. GUADALAJARA, Mexico: With three points secured after the win against the Czech Republic, South Korea will be high on confidence going into their top-of-the-group clash with Mexico. But with home advantage and a fervent crowd behind them, Javier Aguirre's side will prove a major test, experts told CNA before the Group A clash. "The favourite has to be Mexico," said Mr Steve Han, a freelance football journalist who has been covering South Korean football since 2008. "You take into account the history that Mexico has, the football culture that they have, the style that they've had that got them to the knockout stage of the World Cup ... for decades really – that counts for something. And when they play, you see that they're a team that understands each other." In the tournament’s opening game at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, El Tri cruised past nine-man South Africa 2-0, with goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez. Mexico will be without defender Cesar Montes for the clash against South Korea, after he was sent off late against South Africa. A win by either team at Estadio Guadalajara will see them book their spot in the round of 32. A draw could prove to be enough, given the expanded format of the tournament, which will see the best eight third-placed sides progress. South Korea have never won two consecutive games in the group stage, and they have never won the second game in any of their World Cup campaigns. Mr Ross Davis, who has covered the K-League over the years, said that the match with Mexico will be pretty much "50-50". "Mexico showed against South Africa what a good team that they can be. The way they scored their goals as well, pressing high and winning the ball up high – that was impressive," he said. "Two well-coached, very capable teams, certainly the two best teams in the group." To beat Mexico, South Korea will also need to deal with what is likely to be a raucous atmosphere. "The atmosphere (in the Mexico South Africa match) was really crazy," said Mr Jeong Daweo, a reporter from Sports Seoul who was at the stadium. "Players must overcome the Mexico fans. South African players were very scared." South Korea came back from behind in their opening Group A match to beat the Czech Republic. A Ladislav Krejci header put the Czechs ahead, before goals from Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu gave Hong Myung-bo’s men three points. The Asian side drew praise for their attractive attacking style of play, with Hwang and PSG midfielder Lee Kang-in particularly impressive. "They played very well, and they stuck to their principles, and maybe even played better than they have done in quite a long time," said Mr Davis, who called the win a "massive confidence booster". "Ultimately, the way they reacted to conceding was probably the most impressive part for me." Mr Han, who is covering South Korea for FIFA.com, praised the team for playing "tournament football" and being more direct, quicker, or more defensive when the situation required them to. "If you want to survive in a tournament, that's what you want to be able to do. And the fact that they were able to add that to their game, that's what makes it really impressive." WITHIN CAPABILITIES TO WIN The last few years have been tumultuous ones for the South Korean national team. There was the controversial and unpopular appointment of Hong in 2024, and despite being re-elected a year later, Korea Football Association (KFA) president Chung Mong-gyu announced last month that he would be stepping down after the World Cup. There were also a few poor results in friendlies prior to the tournament. Speaking to CNA before the World Cup started, Lion City Sailors midfielder Song Ui-young, a naturalised Singaporean who was born in South Korea, said that the mood among fans had been "quite negative". "They have good players who have experience on the big stage," he said. "I think they can make it out (of the group stage)." While the victory over the Czech Republic has helped to lift spirits, a loss against Mexico could change things, said Mr Han. "Knowing that they actually played well to win, they play good football to win, that takes some pressure off," he said. "If they don't win the second game, especially if they lose, and if Mexico dominates ... and it's a poor performance, the narrative will flip in a second." Also in the headlines has been the South Korea players' boycott of media duties after reporters from the country allegedly mocked Son Heung-min's military service. The reporters were allegedly caught on a hot mic mocking Son's military service stint as the 33-year-old trained separately from the group. "With a sense of responsibility to represent South Korea on the global stage of the World Cup, the Taegeuk Warriors are doing their best to repay the support and expectations of the people," the KFA said in a statement. "However, the recent leak of inappropriate conversations between some media officials at a training site caused great shock and disappointment to the team." Mr Han said that this could be used as fuel for the team. "If they get a result (a win) against Mexico, I think the confidence will really be at a level we've never seen before," he added. "It's definitely within their capabilities (to win) the game, but I don't think it should be the be-all and end-all," said Mr Davis.