The following is a match centre with betting tips for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group F fixture between South Korea and Mexico. The game kicks off on the 24th of June at 1:00 AM AEST. It will be broadcast live by SBS, who now have the rights to all remaining group stage matches.
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South Korea
- FIFA World Rank: 57
- Elo Rating: 37
- Qualifying: Runners up in Group A with a 4-3-3 record in the AFC Third Round.
Squad:
- Coach: Shin Tae-yong
- Goalkeepers: Kim Seung-gyu (Vissel Kobe), Kim Jin-hyeon (Cerezo Osaka), Cho Hyun-woo (Daegu FC)
- Defenders: Kim young-gwon (Guangzhou Evergrande), Jang Hyun-soo (FC Tokyo), Jung Seung-hyun (Sagan Tosu), Yun Yong-sun (Seongnam FC), Oh Ban-suk (Jeju United), Kim Min-woo (Sangju Sangmu), Park Joo-ho (Ulsan Hyundai), Hong Chul (Sangju Sangmu), Go Yo-han (FC Seoul),
- Midfielders: Ki Sung-yueng (Swansea City), Jung Woo-young (Vissel Kobe), Ju Se-jong (Asan Mugunghwa FC), Koo Ja-cheol (FC Augsburg), Lee Jae-sung (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Lee Seung-woo (Hellas Verona), Moon Seon-min (Incheon United)
- Forwards: Kim Shin-wook (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Hwang Hee-chan (FC Red Bull Salzburg)
Recent results:
- Sweden 1 – 0 South Korea
18/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - South Korea 0 – 2 Senegal
11/06/2018
Friendly, played in Austria - South Korea 0 – 0 Bolivia
07/06/2018
Friendly, played in Austria - South Korea 1 – 3 Bosnia-Herzegovina
01/06/2018
Friendly, played in South Korea - South Korea 2 – 0 Honduras
28/05/2018
Friendly, played in South Korea - Poland 3 – 2 South Korea
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in Poland - Northern Ireland 2 – 1 South Korea
24/03/2018
Friendly, played in Northern Ireland - Latvia 0 – 1 South Korea
03/02/2018
Friendly, played in Turkey - Jamaica 2 – 2 South Korea
30/01/2018
Friendly, played in Turkey - Moldova 0 – 1 South Korea
27/01/2018
Friendly, played in Turkey - Japan 1 – 4 South Korea
16/12/2017
EAFF Championship, played in Japan - Korea DPR 0 – 1 South Korea
12/12/2017
EAFF Championship, played in Japan
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 33-11-16
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 54-6
- O/U 1.5 record: 36-24
- O/U 2.5 record: 24-36
- O/U 3.5 record: 16-44
- O/U 4.5 record: 9-51
- O/U 5.5 record: 3-57
- Wins
- Total wins: 33
- Won by 1 goal: 17
- Won by 2 goals: 9
- Won by 3 goals: 4
- Won by 4 goals: 1
- Won by 5 goals: 1
- Won by 5+ goals: 1
- Won to nil 26
- Losses
- Total losses: 16
- Lost by 1 goal: 10
- Lost by 2 goals: 5
- Lost by 3 goals: 0
- Lost by 4 goals: 0
- Lost by 5 goals: 1
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 7
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 60
- Clean Sheets: 32
- Held Scoreless: 13
- Both Teams Scored: 21
Mexico
- FIFA World Rank: 15
- Elo Rating: 18
- Qualifying: Won the CONCACAF Fifth Round with a 6-3-1 record.
Squad:
- Coach: Juan Carlos Osorio (Colombia)
- Goalkeepers: Guillermo Ochoa (Standard Liege), Alfredo Talavera (Toluca), Jesus Corona (Cruz Azul)
- Defenders: Diego Reyes (Porto), Carlos Salcedo (Eintracht Frankfurt), Hector Moreno (Real Sociedad), Miguel Layun (Sevilla), Jesus Gallardo (Pumas), Hugo Ayala (Tigres UANL), Edson Alvarez (Club America)
- Midfielders: Hector Herrera (Porto), Andres Guardado (Real Betis), Rafa Marquez (Atlas), Jonathan dos Santos (LA Galaxy), Marco Fabian (Eintracht Frankfurt), Giovani dos Santos (LA Galaxy)
- Forwards: Javier Aquino (Tigres UANL), Jesus Corona (Porto), Raul Jimenez (Benfica), Oribe Peralta (Club America), Javier Hernandez (West Ham United), Carlos Vela (LAFC), Hirving Lozano (PSV Eindhoven)
Recent results:
- Germany 0 – 1 Mexico
17/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Denmark 2 – 0 Mexico
09/06/2018
Friendly, played in Denmark - Mexico 1 – 0 Scotland
02/06/2018
Friendly, played in Mexico - Mexico 0 – 0 Wales
28/05/2018
Friendly, played in USA - Mexico 0 – 1 Croatia
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in USA - Mexico 3 – 0 Iceland
23/03/2018
Friendly, played in USA - Mexico 1 – 0 Bosnia-Herzegovina
31/01/2018
Friendly, played in USA - Poland 0 – 1 Mexico
13/11/2017
Friendly, played in Poland - Belgium 3 – 3 Mexico
10/11/2017
Friendly, played in Belgium - Honduras 3 – 2 Mexico
10/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Honduras - Mexico 3 – 1 Trinidad and Tobago
06/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Mexico - Costa Rica 1 – 1 Mexico
05/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Costa Rica
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 37-17-13
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 59-8
- O/U 1.5 record: 44-23
- O/U 2.5 record: 33-34
- O/U 3.5 record: 20-47
- O/U 4.5 record: 10-57
- O/U 5.5 record: 5-62
- Wins
- Total wins: 37
- Won by 1 goal: 20
- Won by 2 goals: 12
- Won by 3 goals: 4
- Won by 4 goals: 0
- Won by 5 goals: 0
- Won by 5+ goals: 1
- Won to nil 23
- Losses
- Total losses: 13
- Lost by 1 goal: 8
- Lost by 2 goals: 3
- Lost by 3 goals: 1
- Lost by 4 goals: 0
- Lost by 5 goals: 0
- Lost by 5+ goals: 1
- Lost to nil 6
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 67
- Clean Sheets: 31
- Held Scoreless: 14
- Both Teams Scored: 30
Commentary
Mexico got their campaign off to a dream start with a deserved 1-0 win over Germany. They fielded a bold 4-3-3 line-up and were fantastic in the first half in which they found space behind the German midfield. The only criticism is that Mexico should have scored more. They were then resolute enough in defence in the second half to hold on for the win. Mexico are now in a great position to make the Round of 16 for the 7th consecutive World Cup. They have gone 9-7-2 in their last 18 World Cup group stage games. Mexico will be keen to win Group F, with the runner-up possibly facing a Round of 16 tie against Brazil if they win Group E. It will be interesting to see if they make any changes to the squad for this clash. Head coach Juan Carlos Osorio has used 49 different lineups in his 49 games in charge of Mexico.
South Korea lost their opening fixture 1-0 in a scrappy game to Sweden. Their opponents’ only goal came from a penalty, but Sweden created the better of the chances while South Korea failed to achieve a shot on target, so the result was fitting. It was a lacklustre performance that doesn’t bode well for their remaining fixtures against Mexico and Germany. South Korea are now winless in 7 World Cup matches (0-2-5 record) and have lost their last 3. They have failed to keep a clean sheet in 12 of their previous 13 World Cup fixtures.
Betting
bet365 odds (subject to change):
Compare the latest bookmaker odds for South Korea vs. Mexico
Mexico have won all three of their World Cup games against Asian opposition by a combined 7 goals to 2. Based on South Korea’s poor performance against Sweden they will back themselves to pick up another 3 points. A win to nil wouldn’t surprise me given Mexico’s last 5 wins have been to nil. South Korea have only lost 7 of their last 16 defeats to nil, however, so I’ve been more conservative and have opted for Mexico in the head-to-head.
Betting tip: back Mexico in the head-to-head at 1.72 (Unibet)
Notes
- FIFA World rankings are from the 7th of June and sourced from https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/index.html
- The World Football Elo Ratings are from the 11th of June and are based on the Elo rating system, developed by Dr. Arpad Elo. This system is used by the international chess federation to rate chess players and is considered by many to be a superior rating tool to the one used by FIFA. The ratings have been sourced from https://www.eloratings.net/.
- Squad lists sourced from http://www.skysports.com/football/news/12098/11374464/every-world-cup-squad-listed-argentina-brazil-russia-and-more