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South Korea rallied from a goal down to defeat the Czech Republic 2-1 and make a winning start to their World Cup Group A campaign thanks to goals by Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu on Thursday. The Koreans joined Mexico on three points at the top of the standings after the co-hosts defeated nine-man South Africa 2-0 in the tournament opener.

There were noticeable areas of empty seats in the stadium, calling the official attendance figure of 44,985 into question, but the vast majority were firmly behind the Koreans. Their 2-0 win over Germany in the last group match of the 2018 World Cup put Mexico through to the knockout stage and sent Germany out, and that favor has not been forgotten by the locals.

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