South Korea Rally Past Czechia 2-1 in Group A Thriller

Group Stage · Group A · Estadio Akron, Guadalajara · June 11, 2026

Substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu gave South Korea a winning start to the World Cup, as they came from behind to beat Czechia 2-1 in Guadalajara. Czech captain Ladislav Krejčí headed Czechia in front in the 59th minute from Vladimír Coufal’s long throw. Hwang In-beom equalized eight minutes later, curling into the far corner after Lee Kang-in’s pass, then crossed from the right for Oh’s winner in the 80th minute.

South Korea had 62% of the ball and outshot the Czechs 15 to 7, creating 2.30 expected goals to Czechia’s 0.83. Tomáš Souček had a header from a Michal Sadílek free kick ruled out for offside, and Kim Seung-gyu made important saves late on to secure the points. Czechia, playing their first World Cup match since 2006, booked their place by beating Denmark on penalties in the playoff final.

Korea go level on points with Mexico at the top of Group A after day one.

More: South Korea at the 2026 World Cup · Czechia at the 2026 World Cup · Group A guide

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Archive coverage. First published on ESO Soccer on October 1, 2026. The archive date reflects the events covered.