Day 9: The Co-Hosts Take Charge as Mexico Become the First Team Through

Some tournament days turn on a moment of brilliance. June 19 turned on the math — and it broke decisively the hosts’ way. By the time the action had crossed the continent from Guadalajara to Seattle, two of the three co-hosts had booked their places in the round of 32, and Mexico had got there before anyone else in the field. A scrappy 1-0 over South Korea, a controlled 2-0 against Australia, and the qualification picture had its first names inked in. Down in Foxborough, Scotland barely had time to find their seats before Ismael Saibari put the night beyond them with the fastest goal of the tournament so far.

Three games, three comfortable winners, three groups nudged toward their conclusion. Here’s how Day 9 played out — and keep the live scores handy, because the table kept moving overnight.

Mexico 1-0 South Korea: Romo pounces, and the co-hosts are first through

For an hour at Estadio Akron, this looked like the kind of stalemate that gets a home crowd grumbling — and the 45,522 in Guadalajara duly booed their side off at the break, per Sky Sports and ESPN. Then the game cracked open the way so many do: not with a flourish, but with a fumble. In the 50th minute, Raúl Jiménez’s header was blocked into the air and keeper Kim Seung-gyu spilled the loose ball after colliding with defender Lee Gi-hyuk, leaving Luis Romo to volley into an empty net.

It was Romo’s first World Cup goal, on debut at the stadium he calls home as a Guadalajara player. Per beIN Sports, the 31-year-old became the second-oldest Mexican to score on his World Cup bow, behind only Ricardo Peláez — who, fittingly, also scored against South Korea, in 1998.

South Korea had their moments. Captain Son Heung-min chipped Raúl Rangel only to be denied by an Edson Álvarez clearance off the line and an offside flag — yet Hong Myung-bo still hooked his talisman off on 57 minutes with the game live. Their best chance came late, Rangel saving smartly twice from Cho Gue-sung and Yang Hyun-jun. The bigger story sits in the standings: with a perfect six points, Mexico are the first nation into the knockout rounds and, as the BBC notes, are already confirmed as Group A winners. Javier Aguirre’s side were far from convincing — but they’re through, and they’ll do their last-32 business in Mexico City.

USA 2-0 Australia: No Pulisic, no problem in Seattle

The news landed about 90 minutes before kickoff at Lumen Field: Christian Pulisic, the USA’s headline act, was out with the calf knock he picked up in the opening win over Paraguay. The worry didn’t last long. With Ricardo Pepi stepping in alongside Folarin Balogun, Mauricio Pochettino’s side pressed Australia into submission and led by the break.

Both goals carried a touch of fortune. On 11 minutes, Balogun burst into the box and cut the ball back for Cameron Burgess to turn into his own net. Just before half-time, a deflection sent Sergiño Dest’s effort looping goalward and Alex Freeman — the son of a Super Bowl champion, as FIFA points out — got there first to head home; the offside flag went up, and VAR overruled it.

The numbers underline the control: 62% possession, a 1.30–0.44 edge in expected goals, and a first clean sheet in ten matches. Per ESPN, it’s the first time the USA have won back-to-back World Cup games since the inaugural edition in 1930. “Christian is an important player for us, but we’re a team, and it was impossible for him to play today,” Pochettino said, before the line his fans will love: “We have amazing fans — it’s matching Argentina!” Tony Popovic was blunt: “We looked sluggish, heavy-legged… they won every duel, then we conceded two soft goals.” The upshot: the USA are the second team into the round of 32, top of Group D and — FIFA confirms — guaranteed at least a best third-placed berth. They close against Türkiye in Los Angeles on June 26.

Scotland 0-1 Morocco: Saibari beats the clock

Scotland’s Tartan Army turned Foxborough tartan — a sell-out 64,146 inside Boston’s Gillette Stadium, per Al Jazeera — and then watched their team fall behind before they’d stopped singing. Ismael Saibari struck after just 71 seconds, latching onto a raking pass from Brahim Díaz (Grant Hanley playing him onside), taking a touch and lashing it high past Angus Gunn. It was the fastest goal of the tournament and Morocco’s quickest ever at a World Cup, and it made Saibari only the second African — after Mohamed Salah in 2018 — to score in each of his first two World Cup appearances. The forward, Al Jazeera reports, is on the brink of a $63m move from PSV to Bayern Munich; this was a goal that explained the price tag.

Morocco controlled the rest without quite killing it off — 59% of the ball, twice as many shots, a Saibari effort off the bar. Scotland, remarkably, never managed a single shot on target; they pushed late through Christie and McTominay but never made Yassine “Bono” Bounou work. Steve Clarke’s frustration afterward was aimed at the officials: he told the BBC he was “a little bit disappointed” that Morocco’s Issa Diop saw only a yellow for a last-man foul on Ché Adams — “Che might be clear through on goal” — while two second-half penalty appeals, for fouls on McGinn and McTominay, were waved away with VAR backing the referee.

The night carried a heavy off-pitch backdrop, too: Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi was booed throughout, named in the side hours after confirmation, reported by Al Jazeera/AFP, that he must stand trial in France on a rape charge — an allegation the PSG defender contests and which remains before the courts. On the pitch, the win lifted Morocco to four points and, on the night, top of Group C. Scotland — whose laboured win over Haiti last week was their first at a World Cup since 1990 — are left needing something special, having still never reached a World Cup knockout stage.

The bigger picture: three groups, two hosts home and dry

Day 9 delivered the new 48-team format’s first qualifiers, and it was no coincidence both came from the host trio.

Group A: Mexico (6 pts) are safe and first, through as winners. South Korea (3) need only a result against South Africa on June 25 to follow them; Czechia and South Africa cling on with a point each.
Group C: the tight one. Saibari’s winner sent Morocco top on Friday night, but Brazil’s 3-0 dismantling of Haiti in the early hours of Saturday restored the Seleção to the summit on goal difference. Both sit on four; Scotland (3) must beat Brazil in Miami on June 24 to survive.
Group D: the USA lead and are through; Australia (3) face Paraguay on June 26 with qualification in their own hands.

Full tables are on the groups page and the road ahead is mapped on the schedule. For now, the hosts are setting the pace — exactly as a home World Cup is supposed to go.

Mexico 1-0 South Korea: Romo pounces, and the co-hosts are first through

USA 2-0 Australia: No Pulisic, no problem in Seattle

Scotland 0-1 Morocco: Saibari beats the clock

The bigger picture: three groups, two hosts home and dry

Sources