Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo
Sport
James Andrew

World Cup day eight highlights: Mexico become first team to qualify for last 32 as injury to Ismael Kone overshadows Canada's thrashing of Qatar

Luis Romo.

World Cup co-hosts Mexico became the first nation to qualify for the last 32 of the World Cup with a narrow win over South Korea in Guadalajara.

Mexico midfielder Luis Romo was in the right place at the right time to tap into an empty net after goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu spilled the ball following a collision with his team-mate Lee Gi-hyuk in the 50th minute.

South Korea's best chance came in the 87th minute when Cho Gue-sung's close-range header was saved by Raul Rangel and the Mexico keeper was able to keep out Yang Hyun-jun's follow-up.

(Image credit: Alamy)

Play our free match predictor and win £1k

Fellow co-hosts Canada had a mixed day after Ismael Kone's serious-looking injury left Canada manager Jesse Marsch in tears and overshadowed their first-ever World Cup finals win as they thrashed nine-man Qatar 6-0.

With the co-hosts already leading 3-0 in Vancouver and with a man advantage, Qatar's Assim Omer Madibo and Kone both challenged for the ball, resulting in a lengthy stoppage and the Canadian being stretchered off.

Madibo was originally shown a yellow card, but it was upgraded to a red after a VAR intervention.

But with his name being chanted by the Canadian supporters, ex-Watford midfielder Kone was able to sit up and wave as he was carried around the side of the pitch on a stretcher while inhaling painkillers.

Canada are now likely to reach the knockout rounds, but the injury to Kone is a huge blow to their prospects of a run beyond the last 32.

Johan Manzambi scored twice for Switzerland against Bosnia-Herzegovina (Image credit: Getty Images)

Substitute Johan Manzambi scored twice as Switzerland beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-1 in a chaotic final 20 minutes to edge towards a place in the World Cup knockout rounds.

Manzambi met a knockdown in the penalty area with a first-time volley past Bosnia goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj in the 74th minute, just two minutes and 46 seconds after he came off the bench. It was only the 20-year-old's fourth touch.

With Bosnia down to 10 men following Tarik Muharemovic's straight red card for bringing down Breel Embolo when clean through on goal, Ruben Vargas doubled Switzerland's advantage with a precise curling finish into the bottom corner.

Vargas turned provider in the 90th minute when he set up Manzambi to score his second of the night from close range, before Granit Xhaka converted an injury-time penalty after Djibril Sow was tripped by Amar Memic.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Teboho Mokoena scored an 83rd-minute penalty to earn South Africa a draw against the Czecah Republic at the World Cup.

South Africa trailed after five minutes and seven seconds when Michal Sadilek latched on to a clever lay-off and rifled home the earliest goal of the tournament so far.

But their fortunes finally changed as Thapelo Maseko's shot thundered into Pavel Sulc's arm in the Czech box with less than 10 minutes of normal time remaining.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.