Korea Republic will need to pick up at least a point against the Mexicans after suffering a 1-0 defeat of their own at the hands of Sweden in Nizhny Novgorod on Monday if they are to harbour hopes of progressing to the knockout phase for the third time in the country’s history.

But the impressive display by the Mexicans at Luzhniki Stadium, when Hirving Lozano’s goal saw off Joachim Low’s side, has left Ki concerned about the challenge that lies ahead for him and his teammates.

Jo was a surprise choice by coach Shin between the posts as the Daegu FC custodian picked up just his sixth cap for his national team ahead of more experienced duo Kim Seung-gyu and Kim Jin-hyeon.

Despite his relative inexperience, though, the 26-year-old shone in goal and made a string of saves that kept the Koreans in the game throughout the 90 minutes and he was only beaten by Andreas Granqvist’s 65th minute penalty.

Korea Republic coach Shin Tae-yong began with a 4-3-3 formation with Son Heung-min occupying the left, Hwang Hee-chan the right and Kim Shin-wook in the centre as the East Asians spent much of the first 15 minutes on the front foot without creating a chance of note.

From then on, though, Sweden took a hold of the game and it seemed only a matter of time before the winning goal arrived, which it duly did when Andreas Granqvist converted a VAR awarded penalty in the 65th minute.

Veteran Swedish skipper Granqvist scored the only goal of the game from the spot after Viktor Claesson was upended by Korea Republic substitute Kim Min-woo Kim in the 62nd minute.

Despite passionate appeals, El Salvadorean referee Joel Aguilar initially waved away Swedish penalty claims.

But after consulting the video, he pointed to the spot.

It was the third VAR penalty awarded in Russia 2018 after France and Peru also benefited from video referrals.

Yuya Osako's 73rd-minute winner meant the Japanese avenged their 4-1 mauling in the group stages of Brazil 2014 as Colombia played with a man down for 87 minutes in Saransk.

After leaving Brazil without a win four years ago, Japan made a dream start to their Russia 2018 campaign even though head coach Akira Nishino was only appointed in April.

In an explosive start to the Group H clash, Colombia defender Carlos Sanchez earned the first red card of the tournament with a handball after just three minutes.

Japan took the lead when Shinji Kagawa netted the resulting penalty before Juan Quintero equalised with a free kick for Colombia to make it 1-1 at half-time.

Brazil 2014 topscorer James Rodriguez came on for the last half-hour after labouring in training with a calf strain but could not pull his side level after Osako's goal.

Having experienced starkly contrasting fortunes in their respective openers, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay return to Group A action with a potentially make-or-break meeting for the Asian side.

Saudi Arabia are raring to reignite their hopes of advancing by ending a winless run at the tournament that stretches back to USA 1994, when they beat Belgium thanks to Saeed Al-Owairan's famous solo strike.

While there was undoubtedly an element of luck about their late win against Morocco last Friday, the team did exactly what was expected of them – play with passion. 

It was clear from the outset that a draw from the opening match would almost certainly not be enough for the Asian side to make it out of such a high-quality group. 

With three points under their belts, they are now at the top of Group B and brimming with confidence.