Mexico, Korea eye knockout berth
Mexico and South Korea will look to secure their place in the World Cup knockout stages when they meet in Guadalajara on Thursday.
The Group A rivals opened their campaigns with victories last week, with Mexico defeating South Africa 2-0 and South Korea coming from behind to beat Czechia 2-1.
Co-hosts Mexico eased past South Africa in their opening fixture but are expecting a sterner test against a talented South Korean side.
"We have to be very wary of the opponents' attacking transitions," Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said.
"When we are attacking, we can't let our guard down; if there are two Koreans up front, there need to be three Mexicans."
The build-up to the match has also been overshadowed by a drone incident at South Korea's training session earlier this week.
A drone was spotted flying above the team's training ground on Tuesday before being brought down after it was detected by a member of the Korean team's security staff.
Two men suspected of operating the drone retrieved the device and fled the scene.
South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo described the incident as "unfortunate" but insisted it had not significantly affected his team's preparations.
Hong is also preparing his players for a hostile atmosphere against the hosts.
"We fully understand that it's going to be a match with the home team, and we know that that's going to give benefits to the home team," Hong said.
"But my players have experienced such matches before, so it will be different tomorrow, and we need to control the rhythm and the flow of the match."
Elsewhere on Thursday, Switzerland will face Bosnia-Herzegovina in Los Angeles, while Canada take on Qatar in Vancouver in the other Group B fixture.
Bosnia and Herzegovina coach Sergej Barbarez believes his side can continue to defy expectations after earning a draw against Canada in their opening match.
Barbarez dismissed suggestions that Switzerland should be considered overwhelming favourites despite the gap in the FIFA rankings.
"Everyone has the right to their own opinion and show their confidence," Barbarez said.
"When we were playing against Italy in the playoffs, we had a similar sort of sentiment publicly, but we stayed focused on ourselves."
Thursday's matches mark the beginning of the second round of group-stage fixtures.
