D-1 to Decisive Match Against 'Pressing Machine' Mexico: What Does Korea Need to Win?

[Anchor]

Mexico is ranked 14th in the FIFA rankings, eleven spots higher than South Korea. We have faced them twice in the World Cup and lost both times, and we have not managed a single win in our four encounters over the past 20 years.

Furthermore, with Mexico expected to be backed by the overwhelming support of their home fans, reporter Hong Seok-jun analyzes what our national team needs to watch out for to secure a victory.

[Reporter]

While Mexico may not have a global superstar like our own Son Heung-min, they are a team that maintains a consistent level of performance based on solid teamwork and organic movement among their players.

How did they perform in their first match against South Africa, which they won 2-0?

The first tactical keyword is 'pressure.'

Looking at the scene of Quiñones' opening goal against South Africa:

The moment the opposing goalkeeper attempts a pass, they apply pressure, steal the ball from the defender, and immediately connect it to a shot.

It took only 4 seconds from winning the ball to scoring.

Mexico aims to score through such intense pressure followed by rapid offensive transitions. With Quiñones recording 39 pressure attempts and Giménez 21, these two forwards rank first and second in pressure frequency, showing that the team looks for opponent mistakes starting from the very front line.

Our national team also conceded a shot after losing the ball in the defensive zone during a friendly match against Mexico last September.

The national team's ability to 'escape pressure' will be essential.

Having Lee Kang-in and Hwang In-beom, who possess strong dribbling and ball-keeping skills, drop back to safely transport the ball could be a solution.

[Hwang In-beom/National Football Team Midfielder: Since Mexico is a team with excellent individual pressing ability, it will be very important for us as a team to figure out how to effectively bypass that pressure.]

The second tactical keyword is 'left-wing attack.'

Looking at Mexico's offensive distribution, 47% of their attacks are concentrated on the left side.

This means nearly half of their attacks originate from the left.

One can see them creating shooting opportunities through the active penetration of midfielders into the left space and the organic movement of their attacking line.

In particular, the offensive involvement of left-winger Quiñones, who became the top scorer in the Saudi Arabian league by scoring more goals than Ronaldo, and left-back Gallardo supporting him, is notable.

Mexico's left-wing attack—in other words, our right defensive flank—will be the key area where we must contain these two players.

Additionally, the appearance of Mexico's 17-year-old 'prodigy' Mora, who shares similar traits with Lee Kang-in such as flashy dribbling and sharp through-balls, is expected.

Proactively blocking Mora's penetration and passing through active pressure is another area our defenders must focus on.

(Video Editing: Park Ki-deok, Design: Park Tae-young, PD: Han Seung-ho)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.