On Thursday night, Mexico clinched Group A with a 1-0 win over South Korea, insuring they will play in Mexico City when the Round of 32 begins.
And keeper Raúl Rangel is a big reason for that win.
After a sluggish first half from Mexico — that led to the supporters at Estadio Guadalajara airing some frustration as the teams headed off the pitch at halftime — El Tri came out with more urgency as the second half began. Eventually, the goal those supporters were waiting for arrived, when Luis Romo took advantage of a blunder from South Korea keeper Kim Seung-Gyu, finding the back of the net after the keeper lost the ball in the box:
With that goal coming in the 50th minute, Mexico had to withstand the expected South Korea push until the final whistle. And the scariest moment of that push came late in the match, following a ball into the box from Eom Ji-Sung.
That’s when Rangel stood tall:
Not only did Rangel deny the initial header from Cho Gue-Sung, but the keeper somehow got his hand on a second attempt, denying South Korea two brilliant chances at the equalizer.
Here is another look at the pair of spectacular saves from Rangel:
Following the match, Javier Hernández and Mikel John Obi called it the “save of the tournament:”
They might very well be right.
