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South Korea fans remain confident of World Cup progression despite Mexico defeat

“I didn’t expect to lose like this,” said one South Korean fan.

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Matthew Mohan

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GUADALAJARA, Mexico: Despite a 1-0 defeat to Mexico on Thursday (Jun 18), South Korean fans are staying upbeat over their team’s chances of progressing to the round of 32 at the World Cup.

A 50th-minute goal from midfielder Luis Romo was enough to give the hosts the victory at the Estadio Guadalajara.

The strike came as a result of a blunder from South Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-Gyu who dropped a loose ball in the box after bumping into a teammate. Romo then tapped home to the delight of a partisan crowd of 45,522.

South Korea fans CNA spoke to said they were satisfied with the overall play, but acknowledged that the more clinical team had won.

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“Both teams did as well as each other. It was not really offensive because both already got the win previously,” said Ha Do-kyeong. “But it was important not to make a mistake and Korea made a mistake.”

Fellow South Korea fan Bang Jihoon said Mexico deserved the win, having been more clinical in front of goal.

“I’m sad, but still satisfied with their play,” added Kim Dukgun.

South Korea had a handful of chances to equalise late on but a brilliant double save from Mexican goalkeeper Raul Rangel kept them at bay.

“I didn’t expect to lose like this,” said Lim Hyunmuk. “The generation of Korean players is the golden generation, so I expected at least a draw.”

The win confirms Mexico’s progress to the round of 32, as they have six points from two games after beating South Africa 2-0 in their opener. They are the first side to advance to the next stage.

South Korea are second in Group A with three points after a 2-1 comeback win over the Czech Republic last week. The Czech Republic and South Africa are third and fourth respectively with a point apiece.

South Korea’s fate is still within their own hands. Should the Taegeuk Warriors avoid defeat in their final group game with South Africa on Jun 24, they too will progress. 

“I think we are going to win the last match so no worries,” said Bang. “We are going to win with a big score.”

“We’re definitely going to win,” added Lim.

But not every fan was as confident as Bang, with Ha pointing out that the team tend to struggle against African opposition.

CHANGES NEEDED?

Thursday’s result means that South Korea’s unwanted record of never winning two consecutive group-stage games continues.

The Taegeuk Warriors have also not won the second game in any of their World Cup campaigns.

Given the team’s struggles in carving out chances against Mexico, Kim said he hopes head coach Hong Myung-bo will make some changes against South Africa.

Chief among these changes will be to play captain Son Heung-min on the wing rather than through the middle as a striker, he noted.

“I’m just a single fan, but I hope the coach changes his mind and play with an (out and out) striker, not Sonny,” Kim said.

“And then we will have more chances.”

“I think we need a variety of strategies, not just one strategy,” added Ha.

Subscribe to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and catch all 104 matches live on mewatch. Visit mewatch.sg/fifaworldcup for more details.

Source: CNA/mt(sn)

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