South Korea vs Mexico Odds & Prediction – Olympic Men’s Soccer Quarterfinals

• Mexico’s men meet their South Korean counterparts on July 31st for a place in the Olympic semifinals
• Teams have met five times in previous Games, with South Korea grabbing three wins and two draws
• Read on for a match preview, full odds and a best bet for this men’s quarterfinal

As far as scoring droughts against one opponent go, Mexico’s ongoing blank slate against South Korea will take some beating. It has been 73 years since the Mexican men found the back of the South Korean net at an Olympics, and the teams have played four times since then, all in the last 25 years.

So whether it was in Atlanta, Athens, London or Rio, South Korea managed to repel the Mexican attack at each turn, managing to pick up two wins and two draws to go alongside the 5-3 victory it recorded in the first round of the London Games in 1948.

So Mexico will have the weight of history, as well as a South Korean team that has recorded a tournament-high 10 goals, up against it when the two teams meet on July 31st. Despite that though, the CONCACAF side is the favorite here.

South Korea vs Mexico Odds

Odds as of July 30 at DraftKings

Teams On Verge of Unfamiliar Territory

Despite both teams being regulars in the men’s Olympic soccer tournament, they have only ever made it past the quarterfinals on one occasion each. Both made the semifinals back in 2012 in London, with South Korea claiming bronze and Mexico striking gold.

Mexico wins Olympic Gold! RT if this is your favorite 2012 soccer moment! #BestSoccerMoment2012 pic.twitter.com/aAJdt4VB

— SOCCER.COM (@soccerdotcom) November 22, 2012

But the teams certainly know all about each other, having met five times across the years at the Olympics. South Korea holds an all-time edge in both wins at 3-0-2, and in goals, with seven four and just three against.

South Korea Rolling

After a nervy 1-0 loss to New Zealand to begin its Olympic tournament, South Korea has gone from strength to strength since then. A 4-0 thrashing of Romania ensued, followed by a 6-0 rout of Honduras to ensure that Kim Hak-bum’s team ended up finishing on top of Group B.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWPqs4Bi-y8

Both the 10 goals that the team scored and the plus-9 goal differential were enough to lead the tournament heading into the knockout phase.

South Korea vs Mexico Key Stats

Mexico Survives Tough Group

With some of the best Mexican players currently busy helping El Tri into the final of the Gold Cup, this Mexican under-23 team is not exactly at full strength. However, that makes the team’s achievement of making it out of a group that included both France and Olympic host Japan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MydK3oNSTZA

Although Mexico narrowly lost to the hosts, they picked up steam in their other games, thrashing France 4-0 and waltzing past South Africa to the tune of a 3-0 scoreline.

Rodriguez Misses Out

One adjustment that El Tri will have to make for Saturday’s quarterfinal is in the middle of the park, where midfielder Carlos Rodriguez will have to sit the game out after picking up a red card in the final group-stage game.

Easily the Man of the match?

Can you agree or disagree? #eltri #tokyoolympics #mexicovssouthafrica #alexisvega pic.twitter.com/yrV9XrGnZd

— El Tri Online (@eltrionline) July 28, 2021

Head coach Jaime Lozano will likely bring in Jose Esquivel to take his place and make his first start in these Games after three substitute appearances. Upfront, he’ll be leaning on the likes of Alexis Vega once again, with the Guadalajara striker leading the way for El Tri with two goals so far.

South Korea’s Super Sub

In an ideal world, you would hope that you don’t have to bring in players off the bench to get a goal, but Kim knows that if it comes to that, his South Korean squad has one of the best in the shape of Lee Kang-in. The Valencia attacker already has three goals as a substitute in the past two games, having been relegated to the bench after starting the 0-1 loss to New Zealand.

The top scorers at the Men's Olympic #Football in #Tokyo2020 #BRA Richarlison (5)#FRA André-Pierre Gignac (4) #KOR Hwang Ui-jo (3)#KOR Lee Kang-in (3)#JPN Takefusa Kubo (3)

Richarlison is looking to be the fourth Brazilian to top the goalscoring charts at the Olympics. pic.twitter.com/paf7fIiBNU

— Squawka (@Squawka) July 28, 2021

But the head coach made a change to a 4-1-4-1 formation after that loss, and he’s likely to stick with it given the outstanding results it has yielded in the previous two outings.

Best bet: Draw (+230)