Having kick-started the tournament with a comfortable victory over South Africa on the opening day, Mexico knew they were in for a tougher task this time around, and there was very little to separate the sides in a keenly contested first half.
Backed by a passionate home crowd, it was El Tri who created the best opportunity in the opening 45 minutes. A teasing ball into the area from Roberto Alvarado was glanced goalwards by Julian Quinones, but Kim Seung-Gyu got across well to make the save after Son Heung-Min had seen an earlier effort cleared off the line with the offside flag going up in any case.
The draw between the Czech Republic and South Africa earlier in the day meant both sides were in a comfortable position after their opening round wins, and this perhaps contributed to a rather lacklustre first half, with neither team registering a shot on target after Quinones’ earlier effort to the disappointment of the expectant Guadalajara crowd.
The second half was always likely to be more entertaining than the first with fatigue set to open the contest up, and less than five minutes after the restart it was a mistake which paved the way for Mexico to open the scoring.
Under no pressure, Seung-Gyu inexplicably dropped an aerial ball inside the area, giving Luis Romo the simple task of lifting it into an empty net for his first goal in major competitions.
The goal ought to have opened things up somewhat, with the Taegeuk Warriors keen to establish a three-point buffer to the countries below them, but they continued to uncharacteristically lack energy and attacking inspiration.
The two-time Asian Cup champions belatedly found some urgency inside the final 20 minutes, with Gue-Sung Cho denied at close range by Raul Rangel late on, but their efforts proved to be in vain as the jubilant co-hosts held onto their slender lead and avenged their group-stage exit at the 2022 WC.
Mexico have now won all six of their WC games against Asian teams, and are very likely to return to Mexico City in the round of 32, with South Korea remaining winless at the finals against CONCACAF nations and now facing a potentially nervy final group game against South Africa.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Luis Romo (Mexico)