▲ Oh Hyeon-gyu celebrates after scoring the comeback goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group A match between South Korea and Czechia at Estadio Guadalajara in Zapopan, Mexico, on June 11 (local time).
South Korea's national football team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, secured a thrilling comeback victory over Czechia in their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, thanks to consecutive second-half goals from Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) and Oh Hyeon-gyu (Besiktas).
The South Korean national football team, managed by Hong Myung-bo, defeated Czechia 2-1 in their first Group A match of the World Cup group stage at Estadio Guadalajara in Zapopan, Mexico, on June 12 (KST).
South Korea conceded the opening goal to Ladislav Krejci (Wolverhampton) in the 14th minute of the second half. However, they secured three points with an equalizer by Hwang In-beom in the 22nd minute of the second half, assisted by Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), followed by Oh Hyeon-gyu's comeback goal in the 35th minute of the second half.
Hwang also assisted Oh's winning goal, recording multiple attacking points in the match.
On the World Cup stage, Lee recorded his second assist, Hwang scored his first goal, and Oh marked his World Cup debut with his debut goal.
Having won their crucial opening match, Hong's squad (3 points) began their group stage campaign in second place in Group A, trailing Mexico, who defeated South Africa 2-0 in the tournament's opening match.
This marks the fourth time in history, and the first time in 16 years, that South Korea has won its opening match in the World Cup group stage.
South Korea, making its 12th World Cup appearance, previously won its opening matches in the 2002 Korea-Japan tournament (2-0 against Poland), the 2006 Germany tournament (2-1 against Togo), and the 2010 South Africa tournament (2-0 against Greece).
With this win, South Korea leveled its head-to-head record against Czechia at two wins, two draws, and two losses.
This was the first-ever meeting between the two sides on the World Cup stage.
Ahead of the match, South Korea was ranked 25th in the FIFA world rankings, 15 spots ahead of 40th-ranked Czechia.
South Korea is aiming to reach the Round of 16 in an away World Cup for the second consecutive tournament and the third time overall, following its achievements in South Africa (2010) and Qatar (2022).
With this victory, South Korea has crossed the halfway mark toward qualifying for the Round of 32 knockout stage.
Under the expanded 48-team format, where even third-place teams can advance to the knockout stage, securing two wins in the group stage virtually guarantees a spot in the next round.
South Korea has now built momentum to challenge for the top spot in the group, going beyond just qualifying for the knockout stage.
South Korea will continue its group stage campaign against Mexico on June 19 at 10 a.m. at the same venue, followed by South Africa on June 25 at 10 a.m. at Estadio Monterrey.
Czechia, two-time runners-up in the 1934 Italy and 1962 Chile tournaments, qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time in 20 years since the 2006 Germany tournament.
Deploying the three-back system they have honed over the past year, Hong's squad was spearheaded by captain Son Heung-min (LAFC).
Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) and Lee Kang-in were positioned on the left and right of the second line of attack, while Hwang In-beom and Paik Seung-ho (Birmingham City) anchored the midfield.
Lee Tae-seok (Vienna) and Seol Young-woo (Crvena Zvezda) started as the left and right wingbacks, while the three-back defensive line consisted of Lee Gi-hyeok (Gangwon), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and Lee Han-beom (Midtjylland) from left to right.
Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo) started in goal.
Czechia also fielded their strongest lineup.
Key striker Patrik Schick, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), led the attack, while Ladislav Krejci, a teammate of Hwang Hee-chan at English Premier League (EPL) side Wolverhampton Wanderers, was positioned on the left of the three-back defense.
South Korea generally dominated the first half, but the attack, led by Son, lacked the clinical edge to find the opening goal.
South Korea's first shot came in the 12th minute.
Lee Jae-sung received a long pass from the back in front of the goal area and laid it off for Son, whose shot was deflected by a defender.
In the ensuing play, Son met a cross from the left with a header in front of the goal, but it went well over the crossbar.
South Korea's offensive pressure continued.
Son's sudden right-footed long-range shot from the front of the penalty arc in the 38th minute, followed by a left-footed effort from the penalty arc a minute later, both missed the target.
Son had another opportunity during first-half stoppage time.
He connected with a cutback from Lee Tae-seok on the left, sliding to shoot in front of the goal, but the ball again failed to find the net.
South Korea's attack continued to struggle to yield results in the second half.
In the fourth minute of the second half, Hwang In-beom's shot following a breakthrough was blocked by the goalkeeper, and Lee Jae-sung's follow-up attempt was also denied.
In the 11th minute of the second half, Son penetrated the left side of the goal area to receive a killer pass from Lee Jae-sung, but his left-footed shot was blocked by the goalkeeper.
After squandering numerous scoring opportunities, Hong's squad conceded the opening goal to a set piece from a defensive Czechia side.
In the 14th minute of the second half, Vladimir Coufal's long throw-in from the right was met by a high-jumping Krejci, who headed it into the South Korean net.
It was Czechia's first shot on target.
Despite conceding, South Korea did not let up on their attack and leveled the score in the 22nd minute of the second half with a goal by Hwang In-beom.
Receiving a forward lofted pass from Lee Kang-in, Hwang cut into the front of the goal area, cut back to beat a defender and the goalkeeper, and slotted a delicate right-footed chip shot into the right side of the net.
In the 24th minute of the second half, coach Hong substituted Son Heung-min and Lee Tae-seok, bringing on striker Oh Hyeon-gyu and Eom Ji-sung (Swansea City).
Hong's substitution paid off.
In the 35th minute of the second half, Oh scored the comeback goal, sliding to finish a low cross from Hwang In-beom from the right with his right foot in front of the goal.
In the 39th minute of the second half, Hong substituted Hwang In-beom and Paik Seung-ho for Park Jin-seob (Zhejiang) and Kim Jin-gyu (Jeonbuk).
Following the changes, South Korea dropped their defensive line to lock down the victory.
Czechia repeatedly targeted South Korea's goal through set pieces, but their efforts were thwarted by South Korea's dogged defense and saves from goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu, who is appearing in his fourth World Cup.
During second-half stoppage time, Kim dived to his right to block a shot from Michal Sadilek in front of the goal.
Earlier, in the 32nd minute of the second half, Tomas Soucek found the back of the net with a header from a free kick, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Grouped with Mexico and South Africa, South Korea is aiming to reach the Round of 16 in an away World Cup for the second consecutive tournament, following the 2022 Qatar tournament.
In the tournament's opening match held earlier between host nation Mexico and South Africa, Mexico won 2-0, with one Mexican player and two South African players sent off.
Contrary to weather forecasts predicting evening showers, the skies over the stadium were clear.
Chung Mong-gyu, President of the Korea Football Association, who has announced he will step down after this tournament, watched the match from the VIP seats alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.