Raúl Rangel’s unbelievable double save in the 88th minute helped Mexico beat South Korea 1-0 in Guadalajara, clinching the group and setting the tone for another key moment at Estadio Azteca against Ecuador after the Czechia win.
MEXICO CITY — Raúl Rangel stepped onto the pitch at Estadio Azteca for warmups, then took a knee at the goal line. He pressed his forehead to his gloves, eyes closed in prayer, as if trying to borrow calm from the exact spot where games can flip in an instant.
The moment came again for Mexico when Ecuador arrives on Tuesday night.
Rangel is back in goal for El Tri after Mexico finished the group stage with a 3-0 rout of Czechia. where he subbed out late so Memo Ochoa could get his proper send-off. With “Tala” back between the posts. the focus shifts from what he did for Mexico earlier in the tournament to what Mexico hopes he can do now.
His name became unavoidable during Mexico’s second match against South Korea in Guadalajara. In the 88th minute, Cho Gue-Sung received a cross in the box and fired a header toward goal. Rangel was already moving, diving to his right with precision to stop the shot.
The ball didn’t end the danger. It went right to Yang Hyun-Jun for the follow, but Rangel somehow returned fast enough—rising from the turf to a seated position—to extend his right arm and get a hand on it milliseconds before the ball could cross the plane.
Replay confirmed what the stadium saw in real time, and Estadio Akron erupted again with the chant: “Olé, Olé, Olé! Tala! Tala!” Mexico held on to win 1-0, clinching its group outright for the first time since 2002.
That same sense of momentum has followed Mexico into the later part of the competition. Rangel has been integral to Mexico’s defense, which has yet to concede a single goal through three matches. El Tri has only allowed two goals in all of 2026.
For manager Javier Aguirre, the group-stage run has also carried a personal weight—especially in the stands. “Congratulations to the fans here in Jalisco,” Aguirre said. “They’ve treated us since we got here in a fantastic way, and today you saw the passion of the people. The push it gives you.”
The stakes feel sharper now, and not only because Mexico is shifting from survival mode to control. In the space of one late exchange against South Korea. Rangel reminded everyone why goalkeeping can look like magic and still be the result of nerve. timing. and a willingness to throw himself into the moment.
On Tuesday night, as the warmups end and prayer gives way to positioning, that same question hangs over Mexico’s trip to Ecuador: can “Tala” keep the margin he already earned—again and again—on the biggest stages?
Raúl Rangel Mexico vs South Korea double save World Cup Estadio Azteca Memo Ochoa Ecuador Guadalajara Cho Gue-Sung Yang Hyun-Jun