South Korea 2-1 Czechia: Tigers of Asia come from behind in Guadalajara | OneFootball

Goals from Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu saw South Korea come from behind to claim a 2-1 win against Czechia in their opening Group A match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

South Korea were arguably the better side throughout a goalless first half at the Estadio Guadalajara, but found themselves trailing just before the hour mark after a thunderous Ladislav Krejči header.

But the Tigers of Asia did not let their heads drop and levelled the match with a fine finish from Hwang In-beom, who then teed up substitute Oh Hyeon-Gyu with an inch-perfect cross that was smashed past Matej Kovar to seal the victory.

South Korea face co-hosts Mexico – who won their dramatic opener – next time out, while Czechia will look to get some points on the board against South Africa, who will be without both Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane through suspension.

As it happened

A bright start from South Korea against a Czech side that needed penalty shootouts to progress through both of their playoff fixtures could have proved fruitful for Hong Myung-bo’s men in Guadalajara.

An inch-perfect pass from Lee Kang-in put Lee Jae-sung in with a fine chance of opening the scoring, though after spinning past Štěpán Chaloupek, the Mainz midfielder opted to tee up Son Heung-min, who saw his strike put behind for a corner by Robin Hranać.

Kang-in was arguably the liveliest figure for the Tigers of Asia throughout the opening exchanges and forced Matej Kovar into action with a long-range effort after being played into space by Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae.

But after a sluggish start, Czechia found their feet when a poor touch from Lee Ki-hyuk allowed Lukas Provod to blister down the right flank and whip a cross into the box for frontman Patrick Schick. The Bayer Leverkusen forward had drifted too close to the near post, though, rendering the angle too tight and allowing Min-jae to turn the ball behind for a corner.

Miroslav Koubek’s men were growing in confidence and Provod was involved once again when, just after the half-hour mark, the Repre pushed forward. The 29-year-old’s ball through to Jaroslav Zeleny could have sparked chaos inside the South Korean penalty area, though his cross for Schick was ultimately cleared by Paik Seung-ho.

And it looked as though Czechia would be made to pay for their inefficacy in front of goal when Son Heung-min was presented with a flurry of chances towards the end of the first half, though the former Tottenham forward saw his long-range effort fly just over the crossbar before shooting wide of the near post after cutting inside from the right flank moments later.

South Korea’s pressure continued after the interval with Kovar forced into an impressive double save, denying Hwang In-beom’s low effort after a one-two with Kang-in in midfield and then recovering quickly to stifle Jae-sung’s follow up attempt.

Czechia just needed one moment of magic though, and that is exactly what a long throw from ex-West Ham defender Vladimir Coufal provided in the 59th minute. The 33-year-old, now plying his trade for Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga, picked out the head of captain Ladislav Krejči, who steered a thunderous header beyond Kim Seung-gyu to hand the Repre the lead.

It lasted less than ten minutes though, as the Taegeuk Warriors continued their trend of scoring in the second half of World Cup matches. An incisive pass from Kang-in threaded through the Czech defence for In-beom, who managed to draw Kovar off his line before cutting the ball back onto his right foot, chipping the goalkeeper and picking out the far corner.

And it seemed that the floodgates had opened when West Ham’s Tomás Soucek rippled the back of the net with a header from a free-kick, although the midfielder was found to be in an offside position as the delivery was swung in by Michal Sadilek.

In a bitter blow, Hong Myung-bo’s men then seized the lead at the other end of the pitch just three minutes later when Seung-ho’s stunning ball over the top of the Czech defence allowed In-beom to whip an inch-perfect ball into the box for substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu. The 25-year-old Beşiktaş forward made no mistake, poking past Kovar to put South Korea ahead with ten minutes left to play.

The drama wasn’t over there, either. Having already assisted the opener with a long throw, Coufal attempted to replicate his heroics in the 82nd minute. This time, his throw settled in the 18-yard box and bobbled around before landing at the feet of Adam Hlozek, who was only denied by heroic goalkeeping from Seung-gyu.

South Korea sit second in Group A and will face Mexico, who sit top after their drama-filled meeting with South Africa, next time out.

Czechia will be looking to get points on the board when they meet the Bafana Bafana.