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Mexico has already secured its spot and confidently leads the after two rounds of nearly complete dominance. The host has accumulated six points, has not conceded a single goal, and has become the first team to qualify for the tournament.
The two sessions in summary
On June 11, Mexico kicked off the tournament in front of more than 80,000 spectators at the Estadio Azteca, achieving a 2-0 victory over South Africa. Julián Quiñones scored in the ninth minute, and Raúl Jiménez sealed the score in the 67th minute. The match was intense, featuring a total of three red cards: two for South Africa and one for Mexico.
That same day, South Korea staged a comeback on the first day at the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara. They were trailing after a goal by Ladislav Krejčí (59'), but Hwang In-beom (67') and Oh Hyeon-gyu (80') turned the score around to defeat Czech Republic 2-1.
The second matchday, on June 18, resulted in a rather uneventful draw: the Czech Republic and South Africa tied 1-1 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Matěj Sadílek put the Czechs ahead in the sixth minute, but Teboho Mokoena equalized with a penalty in the 83rd minute. The following day, Mexico secured its qualification with a 1-0 victory over South Korea at the same Akron, thanks to a goal from Luis Romo in the 50th minute.
This is how the table looks
PosEquipoPJPtsDG| 1 | México | 2 | 6 | +3 |
| 2 | Corea del Sur | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | República Checa | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| 4 | Sudáfrica | 2 | 1 | -2 |
Mexico and South Korea are directly qualified. South Africa, with a goal difference of -2, has been mathematically eliminated. The Czech Republic survives as a provisional third place, but their spot as the best third is not guaranteed: they must compete with the third-placed teams from the other 11 groups.
The scenarios of the last day
Matchday 3 will take place on Wednesday, June 25 at 21:00 Cuba time with both matches kicking off simultaneously, the format required by FIFA to prevent agreements: South Africa vs. South Korea at the BBVA Stadium in Monterrey, and Czech Republic vs. Mexico at the Azteca Stadium.
Mexico arrives without qualifying pressure, but with an incentive: if it wins or ties against the Czech Republic, it will finish in first place. Only a loss combined with a South Korean victory would drop it to second place.
South Korea is also in, but they prefer to win. If they defeat South Africa and Mexico does not win, the South Koreans would finish first. A draw or loss leaves them depending on the result of the other match.
Czech Republic is the one with the most at stake. It needs to win against Mexico to reach four points and aspire to the second position, something that would only happen if South Korea does not win simultaneously —the tiebreaker would be on goal difference—. If it ties or loses, its only chance is to remain the best third-place team among the 12 groups of the tournament, one of the eight spots available for that internal playoff.
South Africa will play without any chances of advancing, solely for honor against South Korea in Monterrey.
The most interesting match on paper is at the Azteca: Czech Republic needs to defeat Mexico at the host's home to keep any hope of direct qualification alive, while the tricolor aims to finish the group stage at the top.
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