South Korea vs Mexico, World Cup 2018: Son Heung-min struggles, Carlos Vela shines and yet more penalty drama

Javier Hernandez’s 50th goal for Mexico all-but seals their qualification from Group F and leaves South Korea on the brink of exiting the World Cup.

Mexico dominated the first half and lead through Carlos Vela’s penalty. Andres Guardado’s cross was blocked by Jang Hyun-Soo’s outstretched arm and the referee pointed to the spot without any VAR interference.

Hernandez’s record goal was a result of a typical Mexico counter attack which makes them dangerous in this tournament. South Korea lost the ball in their own half and Hirving Lozano moved it into Hernandez’s path, setting him up to cut inside and beat the goalkeeper.

Son-Heung Min added a late goal but it was not enough to save their tournament.

Here’s five things we learned from Rostov.

Hirving Lonzano’s hard shift falls short of Barcelona standard

After Hirving Lonzano’s scored the only goal in Mexico’s 1-0 win against Germany, his father revealed that Barcelona have made approaches for the PSV winger but said “there’s nothing concrete.”

Lonzano showed he can work very hard for the team and produced a stunning block to deny Lee Yong a certain goal after sprinting back to help his defenders. On the ball he showed glimpses of individual quality with some adventurous individual running but fell slightly short when it came to delivering a final product.

On the ball he kept Mexico ticking over but could not up the tempo of the play with clever flicks or intricate passes which he produced against Germany.

Penalties galore in Russia

23 games into the tournament and there have already been more penalties awarded than the entirety of the 2014 World Cup. Vela’s penalty was the 14th penalty taken in a tournament that has been dominated by VAR.

The Video Assistant Referee technology has been heavily used, getting the majority of big decisions correct when called upon.

Of course, it is not completely perfect, and we may have seen more penalties awarded had the technology been called on more. Harry Kane was unlucky not to be awarded a couple of penalties Tunisia, and Aleskadar Mitrovic looked on with anguish when he was denied a penalty against Switzerland after being wrestled to the floor by two defenders.

Pressure gets the better of Son Heung-min

The warning signs were there right at the beginning of the tournament. “We can have more humiliating results than we had at the 2014 World Cup,” Son Heung-min darkly noted after a 3-1 friendly defeat by Bosnia.

His mood didn’t improve after South Korea’s loss to Sweden. “I'm really disappointed with my own performance. I feel I should be the one who makes things happen for my team mates but I didn't play well,” he said.

He has clearly been playing under a cloud and he was unable to shrug off all of that pressure against Mexico. He delivered another laboured display, with his stunning goal coming far too late. It is a shame he did not take this tournament by storm.

Carlos Vela shines for Mexico

The Carlos Vela so confidently leading Mexico’s attack at the 2018 World Cup is a very different player from the Carlos Vela who began his professional career at Arsenal.

Things never really worked out for the striker in England – he hit just 13 goals in spells in London and at West Bromwich Albion – but he was a big success at Real Sociedad and has already made a big impression in the MLS with Los Angeles.

Still just 29, Vela is an exceptionally important player for his national side and held his nerve from the penalty spot to give Mexico the lead. He will be key for the tournament dark horses going forward.

South Korea dispel some stereotypes

A lot of lazy football stereotypes are being dispelled at this World Cup, including that the African nations can only be discussed in language primarily defined by strength, pace, power, general athleticism etc., as Nick Miller perceptively notes in this recent article.

Add South Korea to that list. Before this match, ITV pundit Slaven Bilić noted that Asian teams aren’t often “physical”, identifying this as something of a weakness. And yet this Korean side work formidably hard off the ball, regularly breaking up play with tactical fouls.

No player evidenced this more than Incheon United midfielder Moon Seon-min, who made more tackles than any other player on the pitch in a hard-working, often bruising display.