Mexico gets important World Cup victory

Mexico's national soccer team beat South Korea 1-0 on Thursday night at Guadalajara Stadium. The win came in front of a packed crowd of 45,522 loud and excited fans. With two wins in two games, Mexico moved to the top of Group A and advanced to the knockout round of the World Cup.

The only goal of the game came in the 50th minute of play. South Korea's goalkeeper, Kim Seung-gyu, made a costly mistake by bobbling what looked like a simple cross. Mexico's Luis Romo was right there and easily tapped the ball into the net to give Mexico the 1-0 lead.

South Korea kept putting pressure on Mexico throughout the whole game. Late in the first half, South Korea's Jae-sung Lee came very close to scoring and nearly gave his team the lead. The crowd in Guadalajara grew frustrated with Mexico's slow play and began booing near the end of the first half.

Mexico's coach, Javier Aguirre, had hoped his team would play with more energy after a tough opener at Azteca Stadium. The team struggled to attack with power during most of the first 45 minutes. But the mood in the stadium changed quickly once Romo's goal went in.

Goalkeeper Raúl Rangel came up big late in the game to protect Mexico's slim lead. He made a crucial save in the 87th minute, stopping a header by South Korea's Cho Gue-sung. Captain Edson Álvarez also helped hold off South Korea's attacks, which was impressive since he had ankle surgery within the past year.

Mexico finished Group A with six points and the best record in the group. South Korea came in second with three points and also moved on to the next round. Mexico's strong start helped erase the memory of a very disappointing World Cup exit three and a half years ago.