Pulido hits debut hat-trick as Mexico crush Koreans 4-0

Olympic gold medal-winning striker Oribe Peralta put the Mexicans ahead in the 37th minute when he turned and shot home from Miguel Ponce's left cross in the friendly at the Alamodrome in San Antonio, Texas.

(Reuters)

The 22-year-old Pulido, showing predator instincts in tight situations in the area, got off the mark on the stroke of halftime touching the ball home in a goal-mouth melee.

He added two goals in the final four minutes in counter-attacks for Mexico, who had struggled to find the net in the CONCACAF qualifiers and very nearly missed out on the Brazil finals.

The match was more even than the score suggests with South Korea failing to put away their chances and the Asian country might have been two goals up before Oribe struck.

(Reporting by Carlos Calvo in Mexico City; Writing by Rex Gowar; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)