LIVE: South Korea vs Mexico

7′ Son commits an accidental hand-ball in midfield, from which Mexico take their free-kick quickly; down near the Korean box, they win a corner off Kim Min-woo as he blocks Herrera’s attempted cross in on the right.

5′ Lozano looks to slip into the Korean box on the left edge around Jang, but the defender plays canny and wins a free-kick of his own after going down.

4′ Mexico win themselves a free-kick 30 yards out on the left wing which Layun curls short into the box; Jang wraps a defensive header around it to push it away from danger, back into midfield.

2′ Layun encroaches deep on South Korean territory on the right edge of the opposition box, only for the ball to be whipped out from under his feet by Kim Young-gwon before he can tee up a shot.

1′ We’re off in Rostov-on-Don! South Korea win themselves an early throw-in and look to cut down the right flank but an interception fromĀ Guardado foils their move and Mexico counter from halfway.

The anthems have concluded and we’re about to get underway. Today’s referee isĀ Milorad Mazic of Serbia.

The teams are out at Rostov Arena for the national anthems.

Mexico’s progression streak is one of the more stellar among sides outside of the top-tier nations; since USA 1994, they have appeared at every World Cup and made the knockout stages in every instance, albeit only as far as the round of 16. As such, their group stage record is rather impressive; they have lost only two of their previous 18 games in this round.

Against Sweden in their first match in Russia, South Korea were substantially poor, walked over by their opposition and managing to muster more yellow cards (2) than attempted on-target shots (0). They have failed to keep a clean sheet in 12 of their last 13 World Cup matches too; Tae faces a herculean task today to halt the buoyant Mexican machine in its tracks.

Twenty years on from their only previous World Cup meeting, Mexico will be hoping for history to repeat itself against South Korea today; the pair clashed in Lyon for their first game of France 1998 with the former running out 3-1 victors. Osorio takes charge of his 50th game at the helm of the national side in Rostov-on-Don; victory and progression from Group F would surely be the finest of ways for him to celebrate his milestone.

Subs: Marco Fabian, Alfredo Talavera, Jonathan dos Santos, Javier Aquino, Jesus Corona, Rafael Marquez, Erick Gutierrez, Raul Jimenez, Jesus Manuel Corona, Giovani dos Santos, Oribe Peralta, Hugo Ayala

MEXICO (4-5-1): Guillermo Ochoa; Carlos Salcedo, Jesus Gallardo, Edson Alvarez, Hector Moreno; Andres Guardado, Miguel Layun, Hirving Lozano, Carlos Vela, Hector Herrera; Javier Hernandez

Subs: Yun Young-sun, Koo Ja-cheol, Kim Shin-wook, Jung Woo-young, Lee Seung-woo, Hong Chul, Kim Jin-hyeon, Oh Ban-suk, Jung Seung-hyun, Ko Yo-han, Kim Seung-gyu

SOUTH KOREA (4-4-2): Cho Hyun-woo; Jang Hyun-soo, Kim Young-gwon, Lee Yong, Kim Min-woo; Ju Se-jong, Lee Jae-sung, Moon Seon-min, Ki Sung-yueng; Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan

As for Mexico, they make just the one change at the back with Edson Alvarez coming in for Hugo Ayala. Otherwise, Juan Carlos Osorio keeps faith with the side who stunned Germany, meaning that West Ham’s Javier Hernandez will be supplanted as a lone striker by a three-man attacking midfield that includes last week’s winning goalscorer Hirving Lozano.

Team news now as we await kick-off and South Korea coach Shin Tae-Yong has been forced into a change through injury, with Park Joo-ho out and Kim Min-woo in at left-back in a 4-4-2 lineup. Midfielders Ju Se-Jong and Moon Seon-Min are also added to the starting XI as they look to find their first points of the tournament.

El Tri sprung a shock 1-0 victory over reigning world champions Germany in their first game of the tournament to put themselves in a prime position to reach the round of 16 – but will they be able to come up with the goods once more against a South Korean outfit looking to keep their World Cup dreams alive after an opening defeat to Sweden?

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the 2018 World Cup in Russia as Mexico look to secure a place in the knockout stages against South Korea in a Group F clash at Rostov Arena in Rostov-on-Don.

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