South Korea Triumphs Over Czechia in FIFA World Cup 2026 Opener

South Korea's Impressive Comeback

Zapopan, June 12: South Korea launched their FIFA World Cup 2026 journey with a thrilling 2-1 victory against Czechia at Guadalajara Stadium on Friday (IST).

Despite dominating the match, South Korea initially fell behind due to a goal from Ladislav Krejci. However, they quickly turned the game around with goals from Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu.

In the 14th minute, Kovar made a crucial save against a powerful left-footed shot from Lee Kang-in. Son Heung-min, participating in his fourth World Cup, missed a few chances, including a near miss just before halftime. He was thwarted again by Kovar early in the second half.

Czechia unexpectedly took the lead in the 59th minute when Krejci scored with a powerful header from a long throw by Vladimir Coufal, leaving Kim Seunggyu with no chance to save.

However, Hwang equalized just eight minutes later with a brilliant goal, skillfully cutting inside and finishing after receiving a perfect pass from Lee Kang-in. Oh Hyeon-gyu then secured the win by converting Hwang's low cross in the 80th minute.

Despite a late push from Czechia, including a remarkable save by Kim against Adam Hlozek in the 82nd minute, South Korea held on to celebrate their third consecutive World Cup victory against European teams, following wins over Portugal in 2022 and Germany in 2018.

Coach Hong Myungbo expressed his satisfaction with the team's resilience, stating, “It was our first game and a very difficult one. The win itself makes me happy, but what’s even more positive is that our boys won by not giving up. I knew that we were more than capable of winning, so at 1-1 I told the boys to keep playing the way we’ve been playing. Now, Mexico is another important match. We will spend the next week to prepare properly.”