2018 FIFA WORLD CUP

2018 FIFA WORLD CUP – South Korea vs Mexico PREVIEW

Two sides who had very different performances to start off. While South Korea were absolutely terrible and posed no threat to Sweden in a 1-0 loss, Mexico put in one of the best performances ever as a nation beating champions Germany 1-0 in a phenomenal counter attacking display. Mexico are expected to win comfortably, but can South Korea pull of a shock?

SOUTH KOREA

South Korea started off with a 1-0 loss to Sweden in a very poor display. South Korea were hardly a threat coming forward, their main man Son Heung Min was a no show and it was a fully deserved loss. South Korea kept giving up chances to Sweden and eventually got punished by a penalty goal. The display didn’t come as a surprise if we’re honest because South Korea simply lack talent, other than Son there really isn’t anyone who can grab the game and when Son gets taken out of a game like against Sweden then Korea are hopeless. They should’ve lost that game by more goals. There was one moment where Hee-Chan Hwang had a free header at the end to tie the score but he choked it away by missing it. An overall deserving loss for Korea where they nearly stole a point in the end.

Coming into the game against Mexico, the objective is clear. Korea must not lose, and preferably win in general because a draw wouldn’t do them that much good. South Korea have to improve in every way, they cant give that many chances to Mexico like they did to Sweden as Mexico have better forward going players with more pace and better finishing ability. Korea can’t allow themselves to be pegged back again, they need to go forward, they need to free up Son Heung Min so he can have a better influence on the game. Mexico will give you chances, so whenever Korea get to attack they need to make sure they take their opportunities. It’s a very tough task having to break down another team when you lack talent and aren’t very good at delivering the final ball in the final third, but then you also have to deal with players like Lozano, Vela, Layun who are in tremendous form and Chicharito can always pop up with a goal. Mexico are miles better, but Korea need to work hard and hope something good comes out. Can’t have another performance like they did against Sweden.

MEXICO

One of the most impressive teams this tournament. Mexico started off by beating none other than the world champions Germany 1-0. A game where Mexico played incredible on the counter attack, with their rapid play they caused Germany lots of problems and could’ve score many more goals. The youngster Lozano stood out the most by scoring the goal and all around making every right decision, he did not put a foot wrong. Vela returned into the side with a banging performance, Layun was great, their midfield play was solid and at the back they prevented Germany from scoring although there some heart attack moments like when Kroos or Brandt nearly scored from long or when Ochoa was tested a few other times. Ochoa was another one that was playing top football in goal, continuing from the magic he provided in 2014 making saves for fun. It was a display from Mexico that put them in a fantastic position where now they’re the favourites to win the group and quite possibly they may avoid Brazil in R16 which might finally get them over the hump of losing in R16 (6 times in a row). It was a display that every nation would be proud of. Now the only question for Mexico is can they perform like this consistently? If yes then the potential in this tournament is massive for them. We even saw the legendary Marquez come on and play 20 minutes. Just a fantastic start all around.

Now the focus for Mexico turns on one of the worst teams in the tournament. To beat South Korea, Mexico pretty much just need to be at their best. South Korea don’t pose much of a threat going forward as seen in the first game so if Mexico doesn’t do anything stupid at the back they should keep a clean sheet. Now going forward their main players might have to play a little bit of a different style. They should expect Korea to sit back, so there might not be too many opportunities to break away on the counters, but Mexico have enough creativity in that team to break down a team if they park the bus. If Lozano, Vela, Layun and Chicarito are on their game then Mexico should be fine. I’m not worried about them going into this game, Mexico should dominate and win.

Prediction

Expect a confident, solid display from Mexico here. Can hardly see Korea pulling anything out from this game, especially when you compare the talent on both teams and their performances in the opener. Sure, a surprise can happen but its very unlikely. We should expect Lozano to put on a show again. Wouldn’t be surprised if Mexico at one point decided to invite Koreans to attack so they can hit them on the break cause once again Korea don’t have the quickest defenders, but for the most part Mexico should be on the ball dominating the possession and creating chances. We should see a dominant win by Mexico here. Expect a 2-0/3-0 final score.

Group Standings

1 Mexico 3 pts +1 GD

2 Sweden 3 pts +1 GD

3 Germany 0 pts -1 GD

4 South Korea 0 pts -1 GD

ODDS – Decimal (WilliamHill)

South Korea Win – 5.80

Draw – 3.60