I walked through the Museo Nacional de Arte this morning and stood before a Velasco landscape — all stillness on the surface, but tremendous force underneath, and that is precisely how I see Son Heung-min approaching this match, quiet in his movement until suddenly he is behind you and the ball is in the net. South Korea's forward weight is simply too heavy for Ivory Coast's defensive structure tonight, and with Kim Min-jae marshalling the back line like a man who has never once panicked in his life, the Elephants will struggle to even graze the Korean goal. Lee Kang-in in the middle is the brushstroke that connects everything — he dictates, he releases, he makes the picture breathe — and without a creative equal to answer him, the Ivory Coast midfield may find this a very long evening at the Azteca.

South Korea's forward line looks absolutely devastating in this matchup — Son Heung-min leading the press with that relentless attacking intent, and Ivory Coast's defensive structure simply doesn't have the organization to handle nine estimated attacking sequences from Korea's side. Kessié will work tirelessly in midfield but he's essentially plugging holes rather than dictating, and when a defense is chasing shadows, fatigue sets in quickly at this level. I actually attempted a *polvorones* — those crumbly Mexican shortbread cookies — in my hotel kitchen this week, and much like Ivory Coast's backline, they simply fell apart under pressure. Korea win this cleanly.