Mexico rounded off their World Cup preparations in emphatic fashion as they came from behind to thump Serbia 5-1 before they open FIFA's flagship competition next Thursday. 

Javier Aguirre's side face South Africa in the opening game of the tournament at Mexico City Stadium, and will now enter that encounter on the back of three consecutive wins. 

But Mexico were forced to come from behind when Petar Stanic rode Jesus Gallardo's challenge before firing past Raul Rangel and into the bottom-left corner in the 19th minute. 

However, Estadio Nemesio Diez erupted when a short corner routine ended with Brian Gutierrez's teasing cross being met by Johan Vasquez's brilliant 34th-minute header. 

It got even better for the hosts in first-half stoppage time when Stefan Bukinac's misplaced pass from the left caught goalkeeper Filip Stankovic out and rolled into his own net. 

Mexico pulled further clear through Raul Jimenez in the 57th minute, with the Fulham striker finishing from close range after Julian Quinones' initial effort rattled the post. 

The result was all but sealed after another moment of Serbian misfortune. This time, Adem Avdic inadvertently turned Alexis Vega's corner into his own net in the 72nd minute. 

Luis Chavez added further gloss to the scoreline in the final minute of normal time with a left-footed shot that fizzed past Rangel at his near post from the edge of the box.

There was also a win for Mexico's Group A opponents Czechia, who battled their way past Guatemala 3-1 at Sports Illustrated Stadium after being pegged back in the first half.

In what was also their final match before taking on South Korea on June 12, Czechia took the lead when Patrik Schick's sensational 11th-minute finish found the back of the net. 

However, Guatemala hit back through William Fajardo five minutes before half-time, but two goals in the space of seven minutes late on ensured Czechia signed off with a win. 

Tomas Chory got Czechia back ahead in the 72nd minute before Denis Visinsky scored his first goal for his country after punishing a mistake by goalkeeper Luis Moran. 

Jimenez gets much-needed goal as he aims to break World Cup duck

Fulham's Jimenez enjoyed another solid campaign in front of goal in 2025-26, with his 10 goals in all competitions a tally only bettered by Harry Wilson (11) for the Cottagers, though it is on the international stage he will be hoping to make his mark. 

Jimenez has played in six matches at the World Cup but is yet to find the back of the net for his country at the tournament, though he will now arrive with confidence after scoring his 45th goal for Mexico, putting him one behind Jared Borgetti in second on the all-time list.

He also finished with team-high totals for shots on target (three), touches in the opposition box (six), duels won (four) and dribbles (three). Roberto Alvarado also impressed, after he created more chances (four) than any other player for Mexico. 

And Mexico were deserving of their win, too. They finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.17 from their 17 shots, seven of which were on target, compared to Serbia's tally of 0.45 from their three attempts.