Mexico beat South Korea 1-0 to top Group A and continue a potential round-of-16 collision course with England in Mexico City, while fellow co-hosts Canada thrashed nine-man Qatar 6-0 in a game marred by the broken leg suffered by their midfielder Ismael Kone.
Kone was stretchered off in Vancouver, leaving a sour taste to a game that saw Canada record their first ever World Cup win, all but guarantee their place in the knockout stage and in which Jonathan David scored a hat-trick.
There was far less incident in Guadalajara.
Mexico became the first nation to secure a place in the knockout rounds by edging a hard-fought match with South Korea, Luis Romo capitalising on a goalkeeping error to score.
Javier Aguirre’s side are now guaranteed to win Group A, providing the added advantage of remaining in Mexico City for the round of 32, and round of 16 should they reach that far.
Canada will also stay in their own country should they top Group B, and will do so if they avoid defeat by Switzerland in their final match.
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Group previews
- Group A: Mexico; South Africa; South Korea; Czechia
- Group B: Canada; Bosnia; Qatar; Switzerland
- Group C: Brazil; Morocco; Haiti; Scotland
- Group D: USA; Paraguay; Australia; Turkiye
- Group E: Germany; Curacao; Ivory Coast; Ecuador
- Group F: Netherlands; Japan; Sweden; Tunisia
- Group G: Belgium; Egypt; Iran; New Zealand
- Group H: Spain; Cape Verde; Saudi Arabia; Uruguay
- Group I: France; Senegal; Iraq; Norway
- Group J: Argentina; Algeria; Austria; Jordan
- Group K: Portugal; DR Congo; Uzbekistan; Colombia
- Group L: England; Croatia; Ghana; Panama
Outright previews
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