Hwang In-beom Overcomes Injury to Shine: Key Player in Victory with '1 Goal, 1 Assist'

[Anchor]

Among the national World Cup team members who secured a victory in their opening match, Hwang In-beom stood out the most, recording one goal and one assist. Despite struggling with injuries throughout the year and suffering a severe ankle injury last March that kept him sidelined for nearly two months, he perfectly proved his capabilities on the world stage.

Reporter Jeon Yeongmin has the story.

[Reporter]

From the start, Hwang In-beom created numerous opportunities with his signature intuitive passing, shaking up the Czech midfield with smooth Marseille turns and long-range shots.

Then, in the 22nd minute of the second half, with the team trailing 1-0, he penetrated the space behind the defense to score a precious equalizer.

With a sublime touch, he deceived three Czech players before calmly finishing with a chip shot.

In the 35th minute of the second half, he delivered a fast and accurate cross to set up Oh Hyeon-gyu's go-ahead goal.

Hwang In-beom is the third player in history to record both a goal and an assist in a single World Cup match, following Choi Soon-ho in 1986 and Hong Myung-bo in 1994.

Hwang became the protagonist of the victory, completing 70 passes, the most on the team.

[Hwang In-beom/National Football Team Midfielder: I want to thank the team because I think every player did their best to help each other.]

Hwang endured a difficult time last year due to a series of injuries, and a severe ankle injury last March even made his inclusion in the final roster uncertain.

However, after ending his club season early, he quickly regained his form at the base camp and created the best day of his life in Guadalajara.

[Hwang In-beom/National Football Team Midfielder: There were injuries, but I thought a lot about what I needed to do to increase my own value. I'm relieved that I was able to show (that I am still in form) to the older players and my teammates.]

Along with Hwang, Lee Kang-in also troubled the Czech players with his flashy footwork.

Lee Kang-in, who showed his presence with several sharp through-balls, smiled brightly as he recorded an assist in his second consecutive World Cup tournament.

Reported by Hwang In-seok | Video by Ha Seong-won | Graphics by Kim Ye-ji
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.