Mexico beat Sudáfrica 2-0 in Guadalajara and Luis Romo supplied the moment that changed the match, scoring the opening goal in the 50th minute to set the Selección Mexicana on its way. The surprise starter finished with his fifth goal for Mexico, and the Tri left the field with a result that felt bigger than one win on the board.
The goal came after Kim Seung-Gyu came out to catch a ball outside his area and lost it in the play that opened the door for Romo. From there, Mexico finished the match with a 2-0 win, and Sudáfrica ended with nine players. The second goal is part of the final score but not the part that tells the story; Romo’s finish did.
That mattered beyond Guadalajara because Mexico and Estados Unidos were the only CONCACAF teams to win their first match in the tournament. Estados Unidos opened with a victory, while Canadá drew 1-1 with Bosnia y Herzegovina, Haití lost 0-1 to Escocia and Alemania beat Curazao 7-1, a set of results that left Mexico and Estados Unidos carrying the region’s best opening-week results.
The gap in the bigger picture is plain: Mexico got the points, but the regional balance still looks uneven after one round. For Romo, though, the night was simpler than all of that — a place in the XI titular, a chance taken in Guadalajara and a fifth goal that gave Mexico a win it could not afford to waste.
