South Korea’s Seol Young-woo (22) celebrates with his team after a goal during the World Cup Group A soccer against Czechia in Zapopan, near Guadalajara, Mexico, on June 11, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
AP
South Korea came back from a goal down to snatch a thrilling 2-1 win over the Czech Republic in their FIFA 2026 World CupGroup A opener on June 12, 2026, with substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu grabbing the winner in the 80th minute.
Korea captain Son Heung-Min wasted several decent chances before his Czech counterpart Ladislav Krejci broke the deadlock against the run of play in the 59th minute by heading home from a long throw-in. The lead was short-lived as Hwang In-Beom kept his cool to dink the equaliser over the keeper eight minutes later.
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Tomas Soucek thought he had put the Czechs back in front with a header from a free kick in the 77th minute, but the goal was chalked off for offside, and less than three minutes later the Koreans went ahead as Hwang turned provider, pulling the ball back for Oh to fire home from close range.
Co-hosts Mexico top the group after their 2-0 win over South Africa, and they will meet the South Koreans in Guadalajara next Thursday, while the Czechs take on South Africa in Atlanta.
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