In the group stage of the Qatar World Cup 2022with five points The teams ensured, at least, the second place of your group. Consequently, the first places in the eight groups of the last World Cup averaged 6,375 pointsso two victories almost They secure first place in each group.
It is precisely in this hypothetical scenario that the selection of Mexicowho, after defeating 2-0 South Africa On the first day of Group A, they will receive South Korea in Guadalajara, Jaliscowith the hope of achieving a second victory in this World Cup that practically ensures him first place in the group.
Koreans come to Akron Stadium under the same conditions, since the Tigers of the East they defeated 2-1 Czech Republic on the first day and a victory against the hosts could basically seal their lead in Group A, at the expense of South Africawhich would reach the last date with the possibility of adding only four units.
However, in the 2022 World Cupthree teams added six points after two victories and, even so, remained in second place: Senegal, Australia and Swiss. Therefore, it is important to take into account the goal difference in group matches between the countries in question, because that is one of the criteria for tie-breaker.
The illusion of Tri in the World Cup
Mexico is on the verge of classifying the round of 32 in advance, without depending on the results of the last day. Therefore, the first thing that must happen is that the Tricolor beat South Korea at the Guadalajara Stadium, since any other result would leave qualification pending for the third date.
However, as the Czech Republic and South Africa tied in the first match this Thursday 18 June, a victory for Mexico against South Korea would ensure first place in Group A, because the criterion of tie-breakerfaced with a possible defeat on the third date, is the result of the direct confrontation between the evenly matched teams.
If El Tri beats the Tigres, Mexico would be left with six points; South Korea, with three; and South Africa and the Czech Republic, with one each. Therefore, if the Tricolor lost against the Czechs and the Koreans defeated the Africans on the last date, the locals would still remain in the lead, due to the confrontation straight with Asians.
The Mexican team does not overcome a World Cup like leader of his group since the South Korea and Japan edition in the 2002when it surpassed Italy, Croatia and Ecuador. Since then, she has advanced four times in second place in her group (2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018) and was eliminated once in third place (2022).
Best third parties
The first two places in each group will be joined by the eight best third places to complete the round of round of 32. In this way, the team that becomes champion will have to play 8 games, instead of 7, as happened in the seven previous editions. Therefore, the long-awaited fifth party of tri Now it will be the sixth.
The crosses for the round of 32, which will involve the teams that finish among the eight best third parties, will depend on their location in the general table and the groups from which they come. For this, and in order to respect the planning of the two World Cup routes, FIFA provided a total of 495 possible combinations.
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— National Team (@miseleccionmx) June 18, 2026