GUADALAJARA, Mexico — South Korea recovered from a second-half deficit to beat Czechia 2-1 in their Group A opener at the 2026 World Cup, recording their first opening-match victory at the tournament since 2010.
Czechia took the lead shortly before the hour mark when a long throw from Vladimír Coufal found captain Ladislav Krejčí, who powered a header into the net. Ten minutes after falling behind, Hwang In-Beom ran onto a probing pass from Lee Kang-In to level, and Oh Hyeon-Gyu later put South Korea ahead to complete the comeback.
Coach Hong Myung-Bo set the team up in a 5-2-3 system he introduced in March after the loss of anchorman Park Yong-Woo to injury, but the setup often looked more like a 3-4-3 as wingbacks pushed high. Right wingback Seol Young-Woo and Lee Kang-In, who started wide before drifting into a No. 10 role, were prominent in a positive opening period that produced South Korea’s first meaningful chance when Lee Kang-In’s 25-yard effort in the 14th minute forced a sprawling save from Czechia goalkeeper Matěj Kovář.
Captain Son Heung-Min had several attempts from distance and created openings inside the area, including a moment just before halftime when he was picked out in the box and teed up Lee Tae-Seok, whose cutback was cleared. South Korea registered strong early possession but were wasteful at times in the second half.
Matěj Kovář produced a string of second-half saves, including a double stop to deny Lee Kang-In and Lee Jae-Sung soon after the restart and a one-on-one block to keep out Son, as Czechia briefly threatened to hold their lead. The South Korea comeback ultimately succeeded, and the victory was likely deserved given the visitors’ dominance of possession — they had 62% of the ball, according to the match report.
