YEKATERINBURG, Russia — An ecstatic roar thundered across the stands in the tense closing moments of the Mexico-Sweden game here Wednesday. A joyful storm of unidentifiable liquids and debris hurtled through the air. Mexican spectators pumped their fists and hugged one another tightly.
The outburst had little to do with what was happening on the field at Central Stadium, where Mexico was disintegrating en route to a 3-0 loss to Sweden in the two countries’ vital final match of the World Cup group stage. Rather, the fans were reacting to events unfolding 600 miles away, in Kazan, where South Korea, against all odds, was beating Germany, the defending champions of the World Cup.
The competitive permutations were complicated and plentiful as these four teams in the tournament’s Group F, singled out as the “Group of Death” for the quality of its rosters, took the field. But this development was simple enough to comprehend: Sweden was moving forward with its win and, more striking for this crowd and fans of El Tri elsewhere, Mexico was going to the round of 16, too, thanks to South Korea’s victory.
The improbable events set off celebrations from here, the easternmost host city of the World Cup, to the streets of Mexico City.
In a rare game that left fans of both teams happy, Mexicans and Swedes departed the stadium singing, “Bye bye, Germany!” while children in the concourses wearing lucha libre masks and the green shirts of Mexico chanted “Corea! Corea!”
“Coreano! Hermano! Ya eres mexicano!” the crowd chanted. “Korean brother! Now you are Mexican!”
People assumed to be South Korean were cheered and thanked, including a Japanese university student watching the game in the Zócalo who was raised up on shoulders and asked to pose for photographs.
“It doesn’t bother me,” said the man, Keigo Munemura, 21, who has lived in Mexico City for a year to study Spanish. “Mexicans are very fun. It was fun.”
The euphoria seemed to dissolve the ill feelings over Mexico’s sudden poor play.
Trailing, 3-0, in the match with 15 minutes left to play, the players here on Wednesday night might as well have plopped down onto the grass, gathered around someone’s cellular phone and started following the Germany-South Korea game. A large portion of the crowd was doing that, anyway.
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