Mexico Become First Nation to Secure Place in 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32

Mexico became the first country to officially qualify for the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after recording a hard-fought 1–0 victory over South Korea in Guadalajara on Thursday.

A second-half strike from Luis Romo proved decisive at Akron Stadium as the co-host nation continued its impressive start to the tournament and maintained its perfect record in Group A.

After opening their campaign with a convincing 2–0 victory over South Africa, Mexico entered the encounter knowing another win would guarantee progression to the knockout stages — and they delivered.

The breakthrough arrived five minutes after the restart when Romo found the decisive moment in the 50th minute to hand El Tri a deserved lead.

Although South Korea battled to find a response, Mexico remained organised and disciplined defensively to protect their advantage and secure another important three points in front of their home supporters.

The victory moves Mexico onto six points from two matches and confirms their place in the next round, making them the first nation to book a place in the expanded World Cup’s Round of 32.

South Korea remain second in the group with three points and still have qualification hopes in their own hands heading into the final round of fixtures.

Meanwhile, both the Czech Republic and South Africa sit on one point each and will require strong performances in their remaining matches to keep their knockout ambitions alive.

Mexico will conclude their Group A campaign against the Czech Republic as they look to maintain momentum and potentially finish top of the group.

South Korea, meanwhile, face South Africa in what could prove to be a decisive encounter in determining the final qualification places.

With qualification already secured, Mexico have sent an early statement at their home World Cup and strengthened growing belief that they could emerge as one of the tournament’s strongest contenders.