World Cup 2026: Mexico vs South Korea Tips, Odds & Prediction

* Odds from Betway, correct at time of writing.

Mexico welcome South Korea to Estadio Akron in Guadalajara on Friday, with kickoff at 03:00 CAT. Both teams won their opening Group A fixtures, so this meeting between the two early pacesetters will likely go a long way to settling who finishes atop this group. For all our World Cup betting tips, head to our dedicated section.

Mexico

Javier Aguirre has Mexico flying after a controlled opening win over South Africa, with Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez both finding the net. In my opinion the attacking trio of Alvarado, Jimenez and Gimenez carries enough quality to unlock a disciplined Korean defence, while they also showed their ability to control the ball further up the field against South Africa. Aguirre has no fresh injury worries, though he will be without Cesar Montes after the defender was given a red card late in their World Cup opener. My read on this is that Mexico will dominate the ball and create the better chances at Estadio Akron.

Predicted Lineup: Ochoa; Reyes, Lira, Vasquez, Gallardo; Fidalgo, Gutierrez; Alvarado, Jimenez, Gimenez.

South Korea

South Korea showed real character to come from a goal down and beat Czechia, with Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu turning the game around. Son Heung-min pulled the strings without scoring, and alongside Lee Kang-in he gives Hong Myung-bo a pair of creators who can hurt anyone on the counter. Kim Min-jae anchors a defence that will need to be at its best against the Mexican press, and there are no fresh injury problems in the camp. From my point of view Korea are dangerous in transition but may find themselves penned in for long spells here.

Predicted Lineup: Kim Seung-gyu; Lee Han-beom, Kim Min-jae, Lee Gi-hyuk; Seol Young-woo, Hwang In-beom, Paik Seung-ho, Lee Tae-seok; Lee Kang-in, Son Heung-min, Lee Jae-sung

Both teams scored in their openers and both carry a genuine attacking threat, so I am not convinced this will be the comfortable home win the price on Mexico suggests. I expect Mexico to edge it through their greater control and home advantage, but with names like Son and Lee Kang-in weaving their magic, I can see South Korea managing a goal on the break. My forecast: Mexico 2 South Korea 1.

BTTS: Yes (2.06)

Mexico kept a clean sheet against nine men in their opener, but South Korea will be a far sterner test going forward with Son and Lee Kang-in on the pitch. Korea found the net twice against Czechia and carry a real threat in transition, while Mexico will commit numbers forward in front of their own fans. In my opinion both teams finding the net at better than even money is the standout value in this market.