Mexico Faces Defensive Void, Yet Vows to Defeat South Korea for Group Top Spot

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The second match between South Korea and Mexico is effectively a battle for the top spot in the group. Mexico's head coach Aguirre is working hard to devise a plan to fill the void left by key defender Montes, who was sent off in yesterday's (June 12) match.

Reporting from Mexico City, here is Pyeon Gwanghyeon.

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Mexico, which made a strong start with a 2-0 victory over South Africa, has begun preparations for the match against South Korea at a state-of-the-art training facility that underwent a 34 billion won renovation ahead of this tournament.

Like our team, the players appeared generally bright and focused on recovery through light movement.

Mexico is expected to focus on how to fill the gap left by their "defensive core," Montes, in the time remaining before the match against South Korea.

The top candidate to replace him is the multi-player and team captain Alvarez, but a point of concern is that he has barely played more than 60 minutes in any match over the past five months due to injuries.

[Rodolfo / Fox News Reporter: The absence of Montes will certainly be felt. He has played alongside his center-back partner Vasquez since they were 10 years old, so their chemistry was excellent.]

Nevertheless, head coach Aguirre remains confident, determined to secure a victory and uphold the pride of the host nation.

[Aguirre / Mexico National Football Team Head Coach: For us, the World Cup stage is truly overwhelming. The moment players see the countless fans on the streets, they cannot help but be in awe.]

Home fans have high expectations for Quinones, a former top scorer in the Saudi league who scored the opening goal in the first match.

[Adolfo Barragan / Mexico Soccer Fan: Quinones is a player who even plays against Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League. So, he should naturally be able to score against South Korea as well.]

Here in Mexico, you can see crowds enjoying the World Cup wherever you go.

If they finish first in Group A, they will play their Round of 32 match at the 87,000-seat stadium in Mexico City, so Mexican fans are preparing for passionate cheering, hoping to defeat South Korea and continue the festival on home soil.

Reported by Pyeon Gwanghyeon | Video by Hwang In-seok | Video Editing by Nam Il | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.