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.

Moon Seon-min (RM) - 6.5

Didn't play a minute of South Korea's qualification campaign but made himself busy here, tirelessly harassing any Mexican that strayed into his zone on the right. He was industrious in the second half, too.

Ju Se-jong (CM) - 6

Generally untidy in midfield. Ju had an important role to play in keeping possession and allowing South Korea's attackers time to get into dangerous positions, but he couldn't be relied upon to give his backline some slack.

Ki Sung-yueng (CM)-  7

The man without a club was influential, winning his aerial battles, finding the mark with positive, forward passes and getting involved at both ends of the pitch.

Hwang Hee-chan (LM) - 6

Hwang made a bright start to the second half, turning his man and feeding Moon to carve a shooting opportunity.

Lee Jae-sung (FW) - 5

A frustrating afternoon for Lee. Well, it was pretty frustrating for his whole team, but particularly for Lee, who couldn't forage his way into the contest.

Son Heung-min - 7.5

You can't accuse Son of a lack of effort - the endeavour was clear to see, particularly in the second half, he was desperate to make an impact on this stage. When he strayed wide, Mexico doubled up on him, so he was reduced to long-range punts, which were all a bit hopeless until his ninth and final shot of the match - a stupendous left-footed strike into the top corner. Well-earned.

SUBS

Lee Seung-woo - 6

The 20 year-old bolter entered the fray on the hour-mark, and his most notable contribution to the match was a wild take-down of Layun. In fairness, it was closer than Kim min-woo had managed to get to the winger all match.

Jung Woo-Yung - 6

Booked in the 80th minute for catching Hernandez with an elbow.

Chul Hong - 5.5

Provided fresh legs and was a bundle of energy... but to no real end, unfortunately.

Mexico

Guillermo Ochoa (GK) - 7

Rarely called upon but on hand when required, reading and acting upon threatening situations. He loses a mark for second-half histrionics when Ki slid in to challenge him, though - it didn't hurt that much, mate.

Edson Alvarez (RB) - 6.5

The young full-back's early confrontation with Ki didn't throw him off of providing decent attacking support to his teamates.

Carlos Salcedo (CB) - 6

A little ponderous, clumsy and careless in the first half. If he had produced this performance against the Germans, he may well have been punished.

Hector Moreno (CB) - 7

A little clumsy with one or two of his challenges but on the whole, Moreno enjoyed another decent day at the office.

Jesus Gallardo (LB) - 7

He was challenged on numerous occasions in the second half by Son, a man on a mission, but Gallardo held firm.

Miguel Layun (CM) - 7

Much-involved for the second game running, repeatedly nipping into pockets of space to offer options to his teammates and trying his luck at goal.

Hector Herrera (CM) - 7

How to describe this guy? Accomplished. An accomplished midfielder. He was so neat in possession and linked up nicely with FC Porto teammate Layun, repeatedly picking him out on the right in the first half with sweeping long balls.

Andres Guardado (CM) - 7

Much more prominent in Mexico's attacks here than he had been against Germany, when Osorio's instructions for him were obviously more defence-minded. Guardado charged down loose balls and neatly linked attacks.

Carlos Vela (RW) - 7.5

The execution of his early through-passes didn't match the standard he'd set himself against Germany, but he dispatched his penalty with great confidence and made a menace of himself thereafter. He's enjoying a good tournament.

Javier Hernandez (CF) - 6.5

Chicharito's a poacher - that's his style. The downside to poachers is that you don't see an awful lot of them unless chances fall their way, and that was the case for him in the first half. In the second, Mexico caught South Korea's tiring defence on the hop, allowing him enough space and time to dispatch his 50th international goal.

Hirving Lozano (LW) - 7.5

Has that irrepressible knack of putting the frighteners on any opponent who blocks his path to goal. Tonight, though, he offered even more - he chipped in with defending when South Korea attempted to counter from Mexico's first half corners and produced an outstanding interception in his own box to deny what looked a certain goal.

SUBS

Rafael Marquez - 4.5

The veteran's under-hit backpass presented South Korea with a huge chance, which he was fortunate they made a mess of.

Jesus Corona - 5.5

Introduced for Lozano in the 70th minute and really stood out - but that's only because his hair is bleached, he didn't contribute much to the game.

Giovani Dos Santos - 5.5

Unable to have much of a say in his 13 minutes on the field, with South Korea pressing hard for a route back into the game.