South Korea opened the World Cup with a 2:1 comeback victory against Czechia in Zapopan
South Korea successfully opened its campaign at the 2026 World Cup with a 2:1 victory against Czechia in the first-round match of Group A, played at Akron Stadium in Zapopan, in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara in Mexico. According to an Associated Press report, the Czech national team took the lead in the 59th minute with a goal by Ladislav Krejčí, but the South Korean team responded through Hwang In-beom in the 67th minute, and Oh Hyeon-gyu brought it victory in the 80th minute. The match had two completely different halves: the first passed in cautious and closed play, while the second half brought tempo, a comeback, and several key interventions that decided the match. For South Korea, this was an exceptionally important start to the tournament because victory in the first round of a group with four national teams significantly changes the prospects in the battle to advance to the knockout stage.
The match was played on the evening of June 11, local time in Mexico, while according to Central European Time it ended on June 12, 2026. According to the official FIFA schedule, the duel between South Korea and Czechia was the second match of this edition of the World Cup and the first for both national teams in Group A. Mexico and South Africa are also in the same group, which makes the Korean victory additionally important because it was achieved against a European opponent that entered the match with a pronounced physical game and a clear emphasis on set pieces. After taking the lead, Czechia had an opportunity to stabilize the match, but failed to maintain control over the space between the midfield and defensive lines, which South Korea used to complete the comeback.
Czech lead from a set piece changed the tone of the match
The first half did not offer much open football. According to the Associated Press report, both teams left the pitch amid dissatisfaction from part of the crowd because the play was slow, with little risk and without a larger number of clear chances. South Korea had more possession and tried to build attacks through the middle, while Czechia waited for situations in which it could use height, strength in duels, and crosses toward the penalty area. That balance of power continued at the start of the second half as well, but one set-piece action was enough for the match to open suddenly. The Guardian stated in its live report that the Czech goal came after a powerful long throw-in from the right side, after which Krejčí scored with a header from close range.
With that goal, Czechia took the lead against the run of play, but also opened space for a quicker response from the opponent. South Korea did not change its basic plan, but continued to seek a breakthrough through midfield and the wide channels, with the growing influence of Hwang In-beom. According to the AP report, it was precisely he who first equalized after freeing himself from two Czech players with a feint, and then assisted the winning goal from the right side. Those two moves clearly marked the turning point of the match: Czechia took the lead from a set piece, but South Korea achieved the comeback through combination play, patience, and timely runs from the second line. In such a development, the difference was not only in finishing but also in the ability to maintain the structure of play after conceding a goal.
Hwang In-beom as the central figure of the comeback
The most important player of the match was Hwang In-beom, the midfielder who took over the rhythm of the Korean attacks in the second half. The Guardian emphasized in its analysis of the closing stages that Hwang dictated play in the middle of the pitch, moved the Czech defence, and found moments to drive forward, while AP stressed that he recorded both a goal and an assist. His equalizer in the 67th minute came at a moment when South Korea was at risk of seeing good possession play remain without a reward on the scoreboard. After he found space in the left channel and finished the move precisely, the match turned completely in favor of the team led by Hong Myung-bo. Hwang’s composure in the finish and his ability to take part again in the decisive move later showed how much the Korean game depended on his assessment of tempo.
The winning goal in the 80th minute was equally important tactically and in terms of the result. According to The Guardian’s description of the move, Hwang managed to get to the ball on the right side and send a low cross into the dangerous zone in front of goal, where Oh Hyeon-gyu made a timely run and scored from immediate proximity for 2:1. Oh had earlier come off the bench in place of Son Heung-min, which proved to be a decisive change. Such an outcome confirmed the depth of the Korean squad and the importance of reactions from the bench in matches decided in the final quarter. For Czechia, it was an especially difficult moment because immediately before and after the Korean lead it had set-piece situations that could have changed the ending, but it failed to beat Kim Seung-gyu a second time.
Kim Seung-gyu preserved the lead at key moments
Although the goals by Hwang and Oh marked the result, the closing stages showed how important the Korean defence was to the victory as well. The Guardian especially singled out the interventions of goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu, including saves at moments when Czechia, after falling behind, again tried to exploit aerial play and congestion in the penalty area. In the 77th minute, according to the AP report, the Czechs thought they had taken the lead again after another set-piece situation, but Tomáš Souček’s goal was disallowed for offside. A few minutes later came a new Czech threat, but the Korean goalkeeper preserved his team’s advantage. These situations explain why the match cannot be reduced only to Korean dominance in possession; Czechia had enough dangerous moments in the closing stages for a draw to remain a realistic possibility.
The Korean back line, led by experienced players and helped by the midfield, constantly had to watch for long balls and second balls after set pieces. Czechia relied on the strength of its forwards and runs from the second line, but lacked calmness in open play. When it lost the first duel or when the Korean midfielders collected the loose ball, South Korea quickly escaped pressure and tried to bring possession back under control. This was especially evident after the 2:1 lead, when the match entered a period in which every lost ball could be punished. The Koreans then showed both technical security and tactical discipline, which allowed them to survive the final minutes without another goal in their own net.
The coaches’ statements confirm the different impressions of the two national teams
South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo, after the match, according to AP, emphasized his satisfaction with the fact that his team did not give up after conceding a goal. He stressed that victory in the first match was difficult but especially valuable because the team continued to play according to the agreed plan and, after the equalizer, looked for the win. Such a statement describes well the psychological side of the Korean performance: the team did not react with panic, did not abandon its midfield structure, and did not rely exclusively on individual attempts by Son Heung-min or Lee Kang-in. Instead, the comeback came through collective patience and the increasingly prominent role of the midfield.
Czech coach Miroslav Koubek gave a more cautious but realistic assessment. According to AP, he admitted that the better team had probably won, but added that his national team could have reached a different outcome had there not been mistakes. That assessment fits the picture of a match in which Czechia had weapons for a result, especially through set pieces, but failed to control possession for long enough after taking the lead. Koubek’s team can draw several useful elements from this match, above all the effectiveness of set pieces and the ability to physically burden the opponent. Still, for the continuation of the tournament it will have to find more stability in open play, because opponents in the group will not allow much space for an exclusively reactive approach.
Son without a goal, but with an important role in the Korean structure
South Korea captain Son Heung-min did not get on the scoresheet, but his presence still played an important role in the positioning of the Czech defence. AP recalled that Son entered his fourth appearance at World Cups and that before this match he had three goals at previous tournaments. Against Czechia he had chances to increase that tally, including an attempt in the first half and a shot from close range in the continuation, but the Czech defence and goalkeeper managed to keep him scoreless. Still, the fact that Czech attention was often directed toward him opened space for other Korean players, especially Hwang In-beom, to appear between the lines. That is one of the reasons why the Korean comeback cannot be viewed only through individual moves, but also through the way the whole team used the opponent’s defensive attention.
Oh’s introduction instead of Son in the second half also showed the coaching staff’s readiness to make a bold decision at a moment when the match demanded a different profile of striker. Oh brought freshness, directness, and a run into space that decided the match in the closing stages. For South Korea this is especially important because tournament football often rewards teams that can get contributions from beyond the starting eleven. In a group in which every match may prove decisive, such depth can be just as important as the form of the biggest stars. Son’s match without a goal is therefore not necessarily worrying for Korea, especially when the team can find winning solutions from midfield and from the bench.
The stadium in Zapopan under FIFA’s name Guadalajara Stadium
The match was played at Akron Stadium in Zapopan, which in official FIFA materials for the tournament is listed under the name Guadalajara Stadium. It is a stadium located in the state of Jalisco, in an area that is football-wise connected with the club Chivas de Guadalajara. According to FIFA’s information on the tournament stadiums, the address of the venue is listed in El Bajío in Zapopan, and the capacity for FIFA purposes may change depending on the competition configuration. AP reported that an attendance of 44,985 spectators was announced for the South Korea and Czechia match and that FIFA president Gianni Infantino was also in the box. The same source stated that some sections of the stands nevertheless remained empty, which was visible despite the very high official attendance.
Guadalajara is one of the Mexican host locations of this tournament, along with Mexico City and Monterrey. For the South Korea and Czechia match itself, the climatic and rhythmic context was also especially important, because both teams in the second half faced a drop in intensity and the need for changes from the bench. The Guardian mentioned in its live coverage that heat and altitude affected the players’ energy expenditure in the closing stages. Such conditions may become an important factor in Group A, because matches are played in different cities, with travel and changes of atmosphere. South Korea passed its first test in those circumstances in terms of the result, while Czechia faces quick adaptation before its next appearance.
The broader context of Group A and the new tournament format
South Korea’s victory carries additional weight because of the format of the 2026 World Cup. FIFA states that this is the first edition of the tournament with 48 national teams and 104 matches, and the competition is played in Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America from June 11 to July 19, 2026. In the group, each national team plays three matches, and according to FIFA’s rules for the groups, the top two national teams from each group and the eight best third-placed teams advance to the round of 32, that is, the newly introduced round with 32 teams. This means that a defeat in the first round is not necessarily decisive, but a victory in the opener brings a major strategic advantage. South Korea now has three points and can plan differently for the matches against Mexico and South Africa.
According to FIFA’s official schedule, South Korea will play against Mexico in the second round in Guadalajara, and will finish the group against South Africa in Monterrey. After the defeat, Czechia goes into a duel with South Africa in Atlanta, and then it faces a match with Mexico in Mexico City. For the Czechs, the match against South Africa has therefore already gained additional importance, because another defeat would significantly complicate even the fight for one of the places among the best third-placed national teams. For Korea, by contrast, the victory against a European opponent opens the possibility of entering the rest of the group with greater confidence and less pressure. It does not guarantee progression, but in tournament football three points from the first match often change the way a team manages risk.
South Korea continued its positive run against European opponents
AP emphasized that this was South Korea’s first victory in an opening World Cup match since 2010, when it defeated Greece in South Africa. The same source states that the Korean national team defeated a European opponent for the third consecutive time at World Cups, after victories against Germany in 2018 and Portugal in 2022. These data do not mean that South Korea is automatically a candidate for a deep run, but they confirm that it is a national team that can increasingly often cope tactically and in terms of results with opponents from European football. In Zapopan, that ability again came to the fore, and in a match in which it was necessary to turn the result around after a goal from a set piece.
For Czechia, according to AP, this is its first appearance at the World Cup since 2006, which gives the defeat additional weight, but also the context of returning to the biggest football stage. Miroslav Koubek’s team was not outplayed in every segment, but paid the price for a period in which it surrendered the middle of the pitch and did not stop Korean runs from the second line. If it wants to remain in the fight for progression, it will have to keep what worked from set pieces, but at the same time broaden its repertoire in the attacking phase. South Korea, meanwhile, leaves Zapopan with proof that it can win even when the match does not develop ideally from the start. That, more than the 2:1 result itself, is the greatest value of its start at the 2026 World Cup.
Sources:
- Associated Press – report from the South Korea – Czechia match, course of the match, scorers, coaches’ statements, attendance, and context of the national teams’ performances (link)
- The Guardian – live coverage and analysis of the key moments of the match, including the goals, the role of Hwang In-beom, and the saves by Kim Seung-gyu (link)
- FIFA – official Match Centre for the South Korea – Czechia match, Group A, stadium, and match time (link)
- FIFA – explanation of the 2026 World Cup format with 48 national teams, 104 matches, and an additional knockout round (link)
- FIFA – rules for progressing from the groups and criteria for qualification to the round of 32 national teams (link)
- FIFA – official match schedule of the 2026 World Cup, including the remaining Group A matches (link)