The Mexican men’s national team secured its ticket to the World Cup 2026 knockout stages on Thursday, after beating South Korea 1-0 at Guadalajara Stadium.

It was actually South Korea who dominated for much of the play, but it didn’t create many clear chances. Early in the second half, it paid the price as goalkeeper Seung-Gyu Kim went out to grab a loose ball and accidentally set up a goal for Mexican midfielder Luis Romo, who tapped the ball into the empty net.

The result sees the hosts secure a spot in the tournament’s knockout stages. With the new 48-team format, the Tri is bound for the round of 32, where it’ll match up against the third-placed team from one of Groups C, E, F, H or I, with the spots currently occupied by Brazil, Ecuador, the Netherlands, Spain and Senegal.

What about the rest of Latin America?

With Mexico the first team to secure a spot in the next round, that leaves plenty of room for other Latin American teams to follow suit. So far, no team has been eliminated, although........

© Buenos Aires Herald