 |
| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
|
 |
| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
|
 |
| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
|
Hong Myung-bo, who scored back-to-back goals by Son Heung-min (LA FC) and Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk), who suffered from failing to advance to the big league, drew after a tight race with world powerhouse Mexico. In September, he finished the two consecutive A matches with one win, one draw and no loss, boosting his momentum nine months before the opening of the 2026 World Cup finals in North Korea and the U.S.
The South Korean national soccer team drew 2-2 against Mexico at 10:30 a.m. on the 10th (Korea time) at Geodyspark in Nashville, Tennessee. South Korea, which was dragged 0-1 in the first half by dedicating the first goal to Raul Jimenez (Fullam) in the 22nd minute, turned the game around with consecutive goals by Son Heung-min in the 20th minute and Oh Hyun-kyu in the 30th minute. The first come-from-behind victory in a year and seven months since the quarterfinals (2-1 wins) of the Asian Cup against Australia in February 2024 gave Santiago Jimenez (AC Milan) an equalizer in the fourth minute of the second half. The moment the victory turned into a draw.
However, the Korean national team, which won 2-0 with consecutive goals by Son Heung-min and Lee Dong-kyung (Kim Cheon) in the first A match against the U.S. on the 7th, showed off powerful performance by shooting two goals and four goals each against the U.S. and Mexico, the co-hosts of the World Cup. This is compared to Japan, which had one draw and one loss without scoring against the same two teams. He also broke his jinx against Mexico for the third consecutive time. His experience with the 15th-ranked U.S. and 13th-ranked Mexico in the away game is expected to be a great asset for Hong Myung-bo, who has entered the World Cup finals mode.
Meanwhile, Son Heung-min played his 136th A match on the day, tying Cha Bum-keun and Hong Myung-bo for the most appearances in the Korean national team. He scored his 53rd goal in two straight A matches, narrowing the gap with Cha Bum-keun (58 goals), the highest scorer, to five goals. Oh Hyun-kyu scored consecutive goals against Iraq (2-0 wins) and Kuwait (4-0 wins) on the A-match day in June, and exploded his 5th A-match goal on the day.
 |
| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
|
 |
| AFP Yonhap News |
|
 |
| APYonhap News |
|
 |
| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
|
Coach Hong Myung-bo has changed nine positions compared to the match against the U.S. Only defender Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) and Lee Han-beom (Mit Willan) were selected for the second consecutive game. Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk) will take the lead in attack in place of captain Son Heung-min (LA FC) in the 3-4-2-1 formation, while Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Bae Joon-ho (Stoke City) will support them in the second line. Park Yong-woo (Al Ain) and Jens Kastroff (Borussia Mönchengladbach) will play the midfield duo, Kim Moon-hwan and Lee Myung-jae (Daejeon) will play both wing backs, and Lee Han-beom, Kim Min-jae and Kim Tae-hyun (Kashima Antlers) will line up as three backs. Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo) wore goalkeeper gloves.
Mexican coach Javier Aguirre recalled the match against Japan and tried to make changes to nine digits compared to the match against Japan, reflecting injuries and card punishment absentees. Both teams' coaches seem to focus on the experiment by rotating a large number of rotations. In the 4-3-3 formation, Raul Jimenez (Fulham) is the one-top, while Hermann Wertherame (Monterrey) and Irving Rosano (San Diego) play both wings. Marcel Ruiz (Toluka), Eric Lira (Cruise Azul), and Eric Sanchez (America) built the three-middle. Rodrigo Ueskas (Copenhagen), Juanjo Purata (UNAL), Johan Vázquez (Genoa) and Matteo Chavez (AZ Alkmaar) lined up in four backs. Raul Langhel (Guadalajara) defended the goal.
South Korea's battle line was shaken early in the first half and dedicated a huge chance. Bae Joon-ho made a futile pass miss in the Korean penalty box. Lira's shot, which snatched the ball, was blocked by Kim Seung-gyu. South Korea, which overcame the crisis, began to gain momentum with Castrov's pressure and Lee Kang-in's playmaking ability. In the 10th minute, Castrov took the ball and connected it to Lee Kang-in. Lee Kang-in poked the pass to Kim Moon-hwan, who was running to the space on the right side. Kim Moon-hwan attempted a cutback after looking at the gate, and Bae Joon-ho attempted a non-stop right-footed shot in a no-mark situation, but slightly missed to the right side of the goal.
In the 15th minute, a pass given by Kastroff with a header was connected to Oh Hyun-kyu in the box. Oh Hyun-kyu tactfully turned around and attempted a left-footed shot, but he was caught by the opponent's goalkeeper's fingertips and was ineffective. Twenty minutes, I had a crucial chance. Lee Kang-in caught the ball under the half-line and stabbed a sensational left-footed out front pass toward the back of the defense. Oh Hyun-kyu, who caught the ball through the offside trap, immediately approached the box and shot a left-footed shot at the bottom of the right side of the goal, but he did not put it properly on the top of his foot and left the goal wide.
 |
| APYonhap News |
|
 |
| APYonhap News |
|
A crisis immediately came after the opportunity. In the 22nd minute, it was connected to the opponent that Lee Han-beom cleared long from the right side of the South Korean defense. Ueskas, who received a pass from the right, crossed 'tuk' toward the gate, and Jimenez shook the net with a sensational header that passed goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu over the height. Kim Min-jae and Castrov competed, but lost the ball in the air and lost the point helplessly.
In the 36th minute, Lewis, who was deceived by Oh's folding motion, was warned for a deep tackle. In the 45th minute, Sanchez's right foot volley was forcelessly carried in Kim Seung-gyu's arms. The first half ended with South Korea trailing by one goal.
Coach Hong replaced Son Heung-min without Bae Joon-ho, who showed poor performance in the first half. Castrov, who made a strong impression in his first start game, replaced Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk) to make a change in the composition of the midfield. Mexico deployed Carlos Rodriguez (Cruise Azul) without Luis, who received a warning.
In the fourth minute of the second half, Son Heung-min's shot from the left side of the box was blocked by a defensive wall. In the 8th minute, Lee Kang-in got a foul from the right side of the opponent's camp. Son Heung-min's shot was blocked by a defensive wall.
 |
| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
|
In the 11th minute, Rosano beat the South Korean defense with a fake motion from the right side of the box and swung his right foot towards the left side of the goal, but it was slightly off the post. In the 13th minute, Chavez's shot fell into Kim Seung-gyu's arms.
In the 16th minute of the second half, Mexico deployed Santiago Jimenez (AC Milan), Alexis Vega (Toluca), and Diego Lines (UNAL) without Raul, Rosano and Bertherame to make major changes to the offense.
However, Mexico's replacement input eventually served as an advantage for Korea. In the 20th minute, South Korea scored a valuable equalizer. From the right, Kim Moon-hwan's long-connected ball hit the head of the opponent's defense in front of the goal and headed to the left of the box where Son Heung-min was waiting. Son Heung-min swung his left foot when the ball was floating, and crossed the goalkeeper's height and cut the net.
South Korea, which has gained momentum, has begun to rush. In the 23rd minute, Lee Kang-in's free kick touched Oh Hyun-kyu's forehead in front of the goal, but it went off the post in vain.
Oh Hyun-kyu, who missed chances in the first half and the second half in a row, did not miss the 30th minute and the fourth chance. Oh Hyun-kyu, who received Lee Kang-in's pass, scored a come-from-behind goal with a sharp right-footed shot that cut the bottom left of the goal at the right diagonal point in the box.
Mexico, which was in a hurry, tried to make a final turnaround by putting in Jorge Sanchez and Jesus Gallardo. Coach Hong, who changed the wingback by putting in Lee Tae-seok and Jung Sang-bin before Oh Hyun-kyu's come-from-behind goal, filled up the energy he lacked by putting in Seol Young-woo and Lee Dong-kyung. South Korea tried to keep Mexico's offense scoreless with active defense the rest of the time. In the 45th minute of the second half, Kim Seung-gyu hit Santiago's left-footed mid-range shot 'SuperSave'. However, it was not enough to block Santiago's left-footed shot that was inserted into the corner of the goal in the fourth minute of extra time in the second half. Six minutes into extra time, Son Heung-min's last shot went off the post. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
