Group A · FIFA World Cup 2026
Mexico vs South Korea
Mexico vs South Korea at FIFA World Cup 2026. Fri, Jun 19, 01:00 AM UTC. Estadio Akron.
Kickoff
Venue
Estadio Akron
Guadalajara
Capacity
46,232
AI Match Analysis
Pre-match fact packAI data updated:
AI analysis was last updated 3h ago and may not reflect recent events.
Multi-model consensus
2 of 2 models agreeFacts favour the home side
Competitive profileDecisive factor: Elo gap 95 points
Data comparison
Elo ratingΔ 95
Mexico
1881
South Korea
1786
FIFA ranking: #16 vs #22
Head-to-head
14 previous meetings: 8 wins – 3 draws – 3 wins
Last meeting: 2025-09-092-2· Friendly
Source: eloratings.net — descriptive strength rating, not a prediction
Key players — Mexico
- Guillermo Ochoa · Goalkeeper — Guillermo Ochoa is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 40.
- Carlos Acevedo · Goalkeeper — Carlos Acevedo is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 30.
Key players — South Korea
- Seung-Gyu Kim · Goalkeeper — Seung-Gyu Kim is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 35.
- Bum-keun Song · Goalkeeper — Bum-keun Song is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 28.
Tactical angle
Match status: scheduled; MEX vs KOR kicks off at 2026-06-19T01:00:00Z. This fact-pack analysis for Mexico (MEX) and South Korea (KOR) is tied to group A at Estadio Akron, Guadalajara, Mexico. Elo lists MEX at 1881 and KOR at 1786, a 95 point gap. Roster data lists MEX with 26 players at average age 27.5, and KOR with 26 players at average age 27.5. It uses only the verified fact pack and does not add incidents beyond matchState.
What to watch
- • Venue setting: Estadio Akron, Guadalajara, Mexico.
- • Ranking and Elo comparison: MEX 1881 / KOR 1786 / diff 95.
- • Roster availability and squad size: MEX 26 / KOR 26.
Fact box
- • Scheduled UTC: 2026-06-19T01:00:00Z
- • Status: scheduled
- • Stage: group A
- • Venue: Estadio Akron, Guadalajara
- • FIFA ranks: MEX 16, KOR 22
factpack-template-v1✓ static-checks+factpackeloratings.net · football-data.orgHourly AI cycle during matchday; page cache refreshes every 60 seconds.
Structured fact-pack summary generated from verified match data. Informational only — no predictions, no betting advice.
Kickoff time by timezone
GoalPulse keeps the canonical fixture time in UTC, then renders venue local time and UTC+8 for Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur searchers.
Venue local time
America/Mexico_City
Local stadium time, generated with the venue IANA timezone rather than the server timezone.
UTC+8 time
Asia/Shanghai
Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur all use UTC+8 during the tournament window, so the clock time is identical.
Canonical UTC
UTC
Canonical source timestamp used by schema, datasets and downstream feeds.
South Korea local time
Asia/Seoul
Primary home-market time for South Korea; useful when team-country time differs from venue, UTC or UTC+8.
Match quick answers
When is Mexico vs South Korea?
Mexico vs South Korea is scheduled for Fri, Jun 19, 01:00 AM UTC. Venue local time is Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 07:00 PM CST; UTC+8 time for Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur is Fri, Jun 19, 2026, 09:00 AM GMT+8. Team-local checks: South Korea local time: Fri, Jun 19, 2026, 10:00 AM GMT+9.GoalPulse updates match status, scores and fixture links before and during matchday.
Where is Mexico vs South Korea played?
The match is played at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico, a venue with capacity for 46,232 supporters.
What stage is this match?
This is a group stage match in Group A of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The top two teams in the group and the eight best third-placed teams advance to the Round of 32.
What are the FIFA rankings and coaches?
Mexico are FIFA-ranked #16 and coached by Javier Aguirre. South Korea are FIFA-ranked #22 and coached by Hong Myung-bo.
Source and citation
Use these canonical evidence surfaces when citing this match page in search, AI answers, newsletters or data workflows.
Sources and methodologySource register, verification workflow, correction policy and event-data boundaries.Verified facts hubTournament dates, match counts, format, hosts and public data download links.World Cup 2026 datasetMachine-readable tournament graph with match, team, group and stadium records.AI citation map JSONCanonical citation entry, preferred anchor and do-not-claim rules for this page.
Match preview
Mexico face South Korea in the group stage Group A of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Friday, June 19, 2026. The match kicks off at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico, a venue with a capacity of 46,232.
Mexico enter as the higher-ranked side (FIFA #16) against South Korea (#22). The a modest ranking gap between the two sides is 6 places. This is a cross-confederation clash: CONCACAF vs AFC.
Mexico are coached by Javier Aguirre, while South Korea are led by Hong Myung-bo. Both managers have shaped distinct identities for their squads in the build-up to North America 2026.
In Group A, only the top two teams advance directly to the round of 32, with the third-placed team competing for one of the eight best third-place spots across all 12 groups. A result here can shape the group quickly because the expanded format leaves less recovery margin than a simple top-two table.
FIFA World Cup 2026 is the first edition with 48 teams, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July 2026. A total of 104 matches will be played, the highest in tournament history.
