▲ Czech Republic Head Coach Miroslav Koubek
"I don't know how a goalkeeper can stop a shot taken from such a close distance."
Miroslav Koubek, head coach of the Czech Republic, expressed his astonishment at the incredible saves made by Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo) after his team suffered a comeback defeat against Hong Myung-bo's squad in their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Czech Republic lost 2-1 to South Korea in the Group A opener of the North and Central American World Cup, held at the Estadio Akron in Zapopan, Mexico, today (June 12).
Although the Czech Republic took the lead with a header from Ladislav Krejčí in the 59th minute, they conceded consecutive goals to Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) in the 67th minute and Oh Hyeon-gyu (Beşiktaş) in the 80th minute, ultimately losing the three points.
While South Korea also missed several decisive scoring opportunities in the first half, the Czech Republic failed to capitalize on a few good chances in the second half as well.
In particular, two shots from inside the box that were denied by Kim Seung-gyu proved costly.
Kim's save against a shot by Michal Sadílek during second-half stoppage time effectively sealed the victory for South Korea.
In the post-match press conference, Coach Koubek said, "We had scoring opportunities, but I don't know how a goalkeeper can stop a shot taken from such a close distance."
He added, "It is very disappointing. However, we played well, and it was a game we could have won. There were some mistakes."
Coach Koubek remarked, "We could have played more efficiently. Still, the players did well. I will encourage them."
Regarding Son Heung-min (LAFC), who missed several good scoring chances, he praised him, saying, "It was not easy to stop him in many aspects. He is truly a great player."
As for Czech striker Patrik Schick, who also struggled, he said, "The game unfolds differently depending on who the opponent is. South Korea defended against Patrik very well."
When asked by the Korean press how he evaluated South Korea's three-back defensive tactic, he replied, "I don't think I am the one to evaluate it. Rather than assessing their overall defense, I tried to focus on utilizing our own strategy. In some situations, their defense looked unstable, and we should have taken advantage of those opportunities, but we failed to do so."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.