After winning their respective opening matches at the World Cup, Mexico and South Korea will fight to claim all three points again and book their place in the next round when they face each other in Guadalajara on Thursday.
Mexico, playing the first match of this World Cup, humbled South Africa 2-0 in an electrifying atmosphere at the Mexico City Stadium. South Korea, meanwhile, were trailing against Czechia but turned it around in the second half to claim all the points in a 2-1 win.
Here's everything you need to know about the Group A match.
How to watch:
The match will be available on BBC in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: 9 p.m., Thursday, June 18
UK BST: 2 a.m., Friday, June 19
India IST: 6:30 a.m. Friday, June 19
Australia AEST: 11 a.m., Friday, June 19
Venue: Estadio Guadalajara, Zapopan
Referee: Gustavo Tejera
Team News
Mexico
César Montes is suspended for the game after getting a red card against South Africa.
Predicted XI:
GK: Raúl Rangel
LB: Jesús Gallardo; CB: Johan Vásquez; CB: Edson Álvarez; RB: Israel Reyes
CDM: Érik Lira
LW: Julián Quiñones; CAM: Álvaro Fidalgo; CAM: Roberto Alvarado; RW: Brian Gutiérrez
ST: Raul Jiménez
South Korea
Predicted XI:
GK: Kim Seung-Gyu
CB: Lee Gi-Hyuk; CB: Kim Min-Jae; CB: Lee Han-Beom
LWB: Lee Tae-Seok; CDM: Paik Seung-Ho; CDM: Hwang In-Beom; RWB: Seol Young-Woo
CM: Lee Kang-In; CM: Lee Jae-Sung
CF: Son Heung-Min
Talking Points
The home support will spur Mexico
It was a cracking atmosphere at the Azteca Stadium when Mexico faced South Africa in the opening match of the World Cup. The home crowd were at top of their voice, making their team hear the support while ensuring their opponents felt the intimidation. South Africa couldn't do much and suffered with two red cards and a loss.
The Guadalajara Stadium will also make their voice heard. South Korea will pose more threat than South Africa but Mexico will have the advantage of playing an extra man, which is the home crowd. On the field, like they showed in their previous game, Mexico will play with high energy and a lot of physicality. Good news for head coach Javier Aguirre that his two most potent scores in Quiñones and Jiménez scored in the previous game. Buoyed by form and crowd, Mexico will push for the win which will guarantee their spot in the next round.
Hwang In-Beom key for South Korea
The spotlight in the team is mostly reserved for stars like Son Heung-Min, Lee Kang-In and Kim Min-Jae, but it was Hwang In-Beom who grabbed the headlines with his outstanding performance in the 2-1 over Czechia. Despite their dominance with the ball, South Korea fell behind in the match. It was Hwang who turned it around with a delicious finish to equalise and then assisted Oh Hyeon-Gyu for the second as they turned it around and won the match 2-1.
Hwang's versatility is one of the standout features in this team. He's a technical player who plays as a box-to-box midfielder, offers plenty of energy going forward and his finishing skills are not bad either. He's a complete player who can step up and deliver when his team needs the most. Like it happened in the previous game, things will get tough in the middle against Mexico, and once again South Korea will hope that their 29-year-old Feyenoord man will step up and deliver.