Both Mexico and South Korea were victorious in their opening fixtures of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and have placed themselves nicely as the leaders of a narrow Group A.

Mexico opened their home tournament with an impressive victory against South Africa on Thursday. Javier Aguirre's side were by far the better side in their opening fixture, scoring within nine minutes to assert their intent in this year's tournament.

South Korea followed suit, despite conceding first, Myung-Bo Hung's men fought valiantly to recover all three points in the match, and joined Mexico at the top of Group A.

Both sides are expected to qualify, given their pedigree in the tournament, but only one gets the chance to do that on Friday.

An impressive performance against Czechia has seen South Korea fly to the top of Group A; their comeback win has aided their hopes of qualification, and they hope to emulate that resilience in Friday's fixture.

Captain Heung-Min Son has been subjected to racial abuse ahead of the Mexico fixture, in which the 33-year-old, accompanied by his teammates, has enacted a media boycott. The racist remarks came from two reporters after a South Korea training session at their Guadalajara base, and aimed at Son's military service exemption.

This controversy will have to be placed in the past for Son and his side, as they aim to replicate a valiant win on Friday. Son's attacking excellence, alongside his team's high-tempo nature, will be key heading into the fixture.

South Korea was the better side for the majority of the Czech Republic game. Hung's side set up almost perfectly to stop Miroslav Koubek's team from playing out from the back and recover the ball, launching a counter-attack.

These same tactics may be vital against Mexico. Aguirre's team likes to maintain possession, with playmakers like Álvaro Fidalgo and Erik Lira seeing a lot of the ball. However, El Trí are susceptible to being caught on the break, which complements the Taegeuk Warrior's style of play.

With the suspension of César Montes, Mexico is forced to rely on its capable bench on Friday. Aguirre will likely re-include Edson Álvarez in the starting lineup to face South Korea, as his gradual return to injury meant he was benched for the opening fixture.

Legendary Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has spoken in an interview about how proud he is to join his nation at his sixth World Cup, despite not playing in the South Africa game, The Athletic reported.

“The Mexican national team has always been my compass in my career and my life; it’s given me direction... I can’t understand my career without the national team. I don’t know what my career would be like without the national team. And now that (my time with) the national team is ending, I don’t see any more meaning in football. I don’t see any more meaning in continuing to play."

His loyalty to his Mexica teammates is admirable and will provide Aguirre's men with a sentimental boost in morale. At 40, Ochoa's first team place has been lost to starting keeper Raúl Rangel, who guided his team to a clean sheet in the first match.

Mexico's defensive shakeup may surprisingly include veteran Ochoa in the starting eleven on Friday, as Aguirre has been known to do the unpredictable in this competition, as he did similarly in the 2010 World Cup against South Africa.

Mexico remain favourites to best South Korea, but will have to work hard to do so. Aguirre will hope his side can put on a more convincing perforamce, after failing to capitalise on a barrage of chances against South Africa.