Javier Hernandez is supposed to be a poacher. The man who hangs around the opposition defence and does little else but try to get on the end of things in the area, but as he racked up a half-century of goals for Mexico to see them remain at the top of Group F, he belied this perception of his role.
Hernandez took possession of the ball 47 times during Mexico's 2-1 win over South Korea, which is more than his wingmen Hirving Lozano and Miguel Layun, and only marginally fewer than midfielder Andres Guardado and the excellent attacking midfielder, Carlos Vela.
He won two aerial duels, made two tackles, and it was his cross from wide on the left which won the penalty Vela converted to open the scoring. The average positions show him in a No 10 role, with Lozano and Layun furthest forward.
The goal Hernandez scored himself was a scruffy, scuffed finish, which probably benefited from the poor contact as it bounced through Cho Hyun-Woo, but how it came about didn’t matter. It took the 30-year-old to 50 for his country, putting them on the verge of the last sixteen of a World Cup for the seventh tournament in a row.
Hernandez may have been the focal point in more ways than one, but this was a collective effort, not just from the players in the squad, but from those guiding things from the touchline.
As they lined up against South Korea, manager Juan Carlos Osorio made one personnel change from the Germany game, but in reality there were two alterations.
Edson Alvarez came in at right back, which saw Carlos Salcedo shift inside from full back to the centre of defence where he replaced Hugo Ayala. It was a subtle tactical change which took account the different opponents, and it was the ideal time to introduce the 20-year-old Alvarez to the World Cup audience.
Alvarez was tidy on the ball, finding the target with 94 percent of his passes which meant he was able to provide an outlet on the right, helping the midfield two keep the ball when the play drifted to that side.
Salcedo, meanwhile, was a big part of the Mexico defensive effort, blocking six shots. South Korea outshot Osorio’s side 17-13, but 9 of their 17 strikes were blocked. Heung-min Son’s wonder-goal is the first goal they’ve conceded in their two games.
In attack, Hernandez, Vela, and Lozano are the most fouled attack in the tournament, having been felled illegally 19 times.
Vela opened the scoring emphatically from the spot, and also contributed three key passes from his position behind the striker. According to the Russian commentary team, Vela likes basketball -- the NBA in particular -- more than he does football, and this fact appears to have been passed around to commentary teams across the globe.
Lozano, the hero in the defeat of Germany, began the game with some important defensive interventions. Blocking shots, making tackles, and tirelessly tracking back to help out at the back line, which involved some great physical exertion early on.
He took a couple of knocks in the process and was fouled numerous times as the game progressed. He was taken off on the 70th minute having assisted Hernandez's goal, and with qualification almost assured Osorio may be tempted to rest him against Sweden.
As we have learned heading into this World Cup, qualification hasn’t been the problem for Mexico, it has been reaching the fifth game. But they’ll now need to focus on finishing the job, after Germany’s dramatic win against Sweden means three teams still have a chance of qualification, though Mexico remain in the driving seat.
Osorio has a number of decisions to make, not least regarding his three regularly fouled attacking threats. Which of them, if any, will he rest for the final group game? Does he stick with the defence which started against South Korea, or revert to that which faced Germany? Either way, there’s still work to do to make it to the fourth game, before beginning to think about going beyond it to the elusive fifth.
