"Disappointing Final Three Minutes"... Hong Myungbo's Squad Draws 2-2 with Mexico

Son Heungmin Scores His 53rd Goal in 136th International Appearance

With the 2026 North and Central America World Cup approaching, Hong Myungbo's squad settled for a disappointing draw against Mexico after conceding an equalizer just before the end of the match.

Korean players celebrating Son Heungmin's equalizing goal. Photo by AP Yonhap News

The South Korean national football team played to a 2-2 draw against Mexico in a September A-match friendly held at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, on September 10 (Korean time).

Although Raul Jimenez of Mexico scored the opening goal in the 22nd minute of the first half, the momentum shifted in the second half when captain Son Heungmin (LAFC) netted the equalizer in the 20th minute, followed by Oh Hyungyu (Genk) scoring a go-ahead goal in the 30th minute. However, Santiago Gimenez scored an equalizer for Mexico in stoppage time, denying South Korea the victory at the last moment.

On this day, head coach Hong Myungbo deployed a 3-4-3 formation. Notably, he made significant changes to the starting lineup by benching nine players who had started in the previous match against the United States, except for defenders Kim Minjae and Lee Hanbeom, and rotated players across all other positions.

If South Korea had held on for the win, it would have marked their first victory over Mexico in 19 years.

Although the result was a draw, it was still a meaningful achievement for South Korea to compete on equal footing with two North and Central American powerhouses on American soil, where next summer's World Cup will be held.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.