First place in Group A will be on the line Thursday night after both Mexico and South Korea opened their 2026 FIFA World Cup with huge wins.
Mexico opened its World Cup campaign with a dominant 2-0 win over South Africa at Mexico City Stadium last week.
Julián Quiñones quickly got things started with a goal in the ninth minute, which was followed by Raúl Jiménez’s first career World Cup goal in the 67th minute after a South Africa red card.
El Tri is now -160 to win Group A, a jump from the -125 number it was at before the tournament began.
Mexico’s crucial match against South Korea will be its 11th World Cup match at home, but first ever in Guadalajara.
Just how important is Thursday’s showdown? Here are the key Group A clinching scenarios:
- Mexico advances and wins the group with a win and a South Africa win/draw.
- South Korea advances and wins the group with a win and a Czechia win/draw.
- A draw would likely result in both teams advancing, though that would not be certain until later in the group stage.
Can Mexico construct off its opening match and make a deep run on this event? Let’s try the up to date odds for El Tri as of June 18.
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Group Mexico — Stage of Elimination
Final 32: +130 (wager $10 to win $23 complete)
Final 16: +155 (wager $10 to win $25.50 complete)
Quarterfinals: +500 (wager $10 to win $60 complete)
Semifinals: +1400 (wager $10 to win $150 complete)
Runner-up: +2800 (wager $10 to win $290 complete)
Group stage: +3500 (wager $10 to win $360 complete)
Outright winner: +5000 (wager $10 to win $510 complete)
Mexico is at present +5500 to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup after its opening win vs. South Africa (Getty Pictures).
Mexico to Qualify from Group A: –10000 (wager $10 to win $10.10 complete)
Mexico Group A Winner: -160 (wager $10 to win $16.25 complete)
Mexico Prime Goalscorer
Raúl Jiménez: -115 (wager $10 to win $18.70 complete)
Julián Quiñones: +150 (wager $10 to win $25 complete)
Santiago Giménez: +1400 (wager $10 to win $150 complete)
Armando González: +1400 (wager $10 to win $150 complete)
Roberto Alvarado: +1800 (wager $10 to win $190 complete)
Guillermo Martínez: +2500 (wager $10 to win $260 complete)
Alexis Vega: +3000 (wager $10 to win $310 complete)
Gilberto Mora: +3000 (wager $10 to win $310 complete)
What to know: Mexico has made a behavior of being within the operating, however by no means actually being within the operating. Make sense? Think about this: El Tri made it out of the group stage in seven consecutive World Cups (1994-2018), however by no means made it previous the Spherical of 16 in any of these years. In 2022, Mexico did not make it out of the group stage, and it’ll look to get again to its profitable methods in 2026, as it’s favored to win Group A after its opening win towards South Africa. Mexico will face South Korea and the Czech Republic in its closing two group video games.
Previous to the event, Jiménez was the clear favourite to steer Mexico in targets this summer season at +220. Now, after his 67th minute header that discovered the again of the web vs. South Africa, he’s -115. Quiñones, who many imagine could be one of many breakout gamers of the event, has surged from +750 to 150 after his objective on Thursday.
