'Goal king who surpassed Ronaldo' 33-goal monster Quiñones starts against Korea... Mexico's starting lineup revealed [World Cup LINEup]

*This content was translated by AI.

Mexico's starting lineup for the World Cup match against the Republic of Korea has been revealed.

Under head coach Javier Aguirre, the Mexican national team will face South Korea at 10 a.m. (Korea time) on the 19th at Estadio Akron in Zapopan, Guadalajara, Mexico, in the second Group A match of the 2026 FIFA North, Central America and Caribbean Cup.

In this tournament, the head-to-head record takes precedence in case of tied points. South Korea defeated Czech Republic 2-1 in the first match, Mexico beat South Africa 2-0, and Czech Republic and South Africa drew 1-1 in their second-round matchup.

As a result, if Mexico defeats Korea in this match, they can secure first place in Group A early, prompting both teams to go all out.

Mexico has placed Raúl Jiménez (Wolverhampton Wanderers), who scored consecutive goals against South Africa, and Julian Quiñones (Al-Gharafa), the scorer of the opening and decisive goal, at the forefront.

Quiñones, who has shown top form even at the World Cup, is a top-tier winger who scored 33 goals in the 2025-2026 Saudi Professional League (SPL), surpassing Ivan Toney (32 goals) and Cristiano Ronaldo (28 goals) to claim the Golden Boot.

Luis Romo, Roberto Alvarado, and Brian Gutiérrez (all from Guadalajara), along with Erick Lira (Cruz Azul), will anchor the midfield. The defense is built with Jesús Gallardo (Toluca), Yoan Bazquez (Genoa), Edson Álvarez (Fenerbahçe), and Jorge Sánchez (PAOK) in a back four, while Raúl Angulo (Guadalajara) guards the goal.

Mexico faces a severe blow ahead of this match with the loss of key central defender and captain César Montes (Lokomotiv Moscow). Montes was sent off just before the end of the first match against South Africa after tripping Kuliso Moudau, who was attempting a counterattack during defensive play in stoppage time, resulting in an immediate red card from the referee. Consequently, Montes, the key defender and captain, has been excluded from the final lineup for the match against Korea.

During a press conference held the previous day, coach Aguirre expressed caution, mentioning his former protégé Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), whom he personally coached during his time at Mallorca in Spain's La Liga. Aguirre stated, "Lee Kang-in is a very difficult player to mark." He further analyzed, "Unlike at his club, he is deployed closer to a wide attacker for the Korean national team, making his movements cutting in from the wing, sharp passing, one-on-one dribbling, and long-range shooting extremely threatening."

He added, "I have clearly instructed the Mexican players on tactics and completed video analysis. I hope we can suppress Lee Kang-in's influence in tomorrow's match."

He also recalled struggling against Korea's rapid transition speed and pace during a friendly match in September (2-2 draw), emphasizing, "We will absolutely not repeat such mistakes in the World Cup matchup. We have focused intensely on training to maintain a compact team shape within 40 meters during both attack and defense."

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*This content was translated by AI.