As was the case in their victory over Germany, El Tri's midfield and attack worked tremendously in tandem to work the ball quickly from deep positions into areas of danger.

Juan Carlos Osorio's side were justly rewarded for a dominant first half with Carlos Vela converting a penalty awarded for handball by Jang Hyun-soo.

South Korea displayed greater attacking intent after the break, only to be punished on the counter-attack, with Javier Hernandez tucking away the match-deciding goal.

However, they stuck to the task of finding a consolatory goal, and found one in stoppage time as as star man Son Heung-min's unwavering effort in the second half was rewarded with one of the best goals of the tournament so far.

South Korea

Cho Hyun-woo (GK) - 6

Blameless in defeat for the second time in five days. He was sharp and dominant in his area, leaving his line to confidently claim Mexican crosses. He produced a fine, cat-like save to deny Andres Guardado after the break as well.

Lee Yong (RB) - 6

There didn't appear to be any shortage of gas in the tank or defensive diligence from the 31-year-old right-back, but Hirving Lozano had him in knots. He was booked for a tired challenge on the Lozano in the second half which left El Tri's bright young thing needing treatment.

Jang Hyun-soo (CB) - 5

Penalties awarded for handball are often unfortunate on the part of the offender. Not so for Jang, penalised for leaving his arm unnecessarily high when attempting to block a cross. He was sent for a hot dog by Hernandez when the Mexico man scored his side's second goal, too.

Kim Young-gwon (CB) - 6

Well-composed and generally dependable when danger came his way.

Kim Min-woo (LB) - 5

South Korea have suffered badly from injuries at left-back - Kim is their third choice to play in the position, and his best wasn't good enough. Naturally a midfielder, he repeatedly found himself out of position and unable to address the threat posed by the roaming Miguel Layun, so gave up trying in the second half and concentrated on attacking. There was nothing to lose at that point.