South Korea midfielder Hwang In-beom celebrates scoring during their 2026 Fifa World Cup Group A match against Czechia.
South Korea got their FIFA World Cup campaign off to a winning start by edging out Czechia 2-1 on Thursday, after finally converting their overwhelming dominance into second-half goals.
Until the 80th-minute mark, it seemed as though the wasteful Koreans would be heavily punished for a succession of squandered opportunities. However, second-half substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu stepped up to slot home the decisive winner in a Guadalajara stadium that was far from full capacity.
Son Heung-min's side had utterly dominated the opening half but lacked clinical precision in the final third. The iconic forward blasted one early effort well over the crossbar before executing a trademark driving run down the left channel, evading two Czech defenders only to drag his eventual shot wide of the target.
An entertaining second half began with the Czechs taking a shock lead completely against the run of play. Ladislav Krejci ghosted to the front post to power a bullet header past Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu from a pinpoint corner.
