South Korea turned a losing start into a 2-1 victory over Czechia in their World Cup Group A opener on 12 June 2026, recovering from a goal down to leave both teams with a very different first night in the tournament. The result put South Korea on three points alongside Mexico at the top of Group A and gave them a timely early edge in the standings.
Son Heung-min was at the center of the night for South Korea, even if the final scoreline did not reflect it. The captain had five first-half chances and still finished the match without adding to his 56 goals for his country, an unusually wasteful spell for a player who has carried so much of his team’s attack.
That made the response even more important. Czechia went ahead when Ladislav Krejci headed in in the 59th minute, but South Korea hit back eight minutes later through Hwang In-beom before Oh Hyeon-gyu scored with 10 minutes remaining to complete the comeback in Guadalajara.
The match also carried extra weight for Czechia, who were playing their first World Cup game for 20 years, while Miroslav Koubek became the oldest manager in World Cup history in the opening game at 74. His team had enough moments to stay in it, but South Korea’s pace and late pressure were decisive when it mattered most.
Hong Byung-bo said before the match that his message to the squad was to keep going until the end and play as one team, and the performance matched that demand even with Son off song in front of goal. He later said Son remained the team’s best player and a stable captain, while also urging him to brush up after an evening that showed both the value of his presence and the room left for him to be sharper.
For Czechia, the defeat leaves them chasing points from the start after Mexico beat nine-man South Africa 2-0 in the tournament opener in Mexico City. Koubek said the better team won and accepted that his side had to live with the travel and the demands of the schedule, but he also pointed to a need to be more attacking and creative in the final 30 meters.
South Korea now move into a decisive early test against Mexico on 18 June, while Czechia travel to Atlanta to meet South Africa the same day. Son is still two goals short of the all-time scoring record for South Korea, and if he is to help carry them deeper into the tournament, the next chance arrives quickly.
