South Korea 2-1 Czechia: Hwang In-beom Sparks World Cup 2026 Comeback in Guadalajara
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Goals: KOR: Hwang In-beom 67', Oh Hyeon-gyu 80' CZE: Ladislav Krejci 59'
South Korea beat Czechia 2-1 in World Cup 2026 Group A on June 11. After falling behind in the 59th minute, Hwang In-beom equalized in the 67th and set up Oh Hyeon-gyu's winner in the 80th. South Korea join Mexico at the top of Group A with 3 points.
South Korea produced a second-half comeback to defeat Czechia 2-1 in their opening World Cup 2026 Group A match in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Thursday night. The result puts South Korea level with Mexico at the top of the group on 3 points.
After a flat first half in which both teams were greeted by jeers at half-time, Czechia broke the deadlock on 59 minutes when captain Ladislav Krejci headed home a long throw from Vladimir Coufal at the back post.
Hwang In-beom: Man of the Match
The deficit lasted just eight minutes. Hwang In-beom, the midfielder who now plays for Freiburg, received a pass from Lee Kang-in, cut inside two Czech defenders with a deft move, and clipped a finish inside the near post to make it 1-1.
With 10 minutes remaining, Hwang then delivered the cross from the right flank for substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu to head home the winner at the back post, completing the turnaround. Hwang became just the third Korean player in World Cup history to score and assist in the same game, following Choi Soon-ho in 1986.
Czechia believed they had retaken the lead in the 77th minute when Tomáš Souček headed in from a corner, but the West Ham midfielder was flagged offside — a tight but correct call that proved match-deciding.
Son Heung-min Update
Son Heung-min, the 33-year-old LAFC forward and South Korea's captain, had the chance to become the top Asian scorer in World Cup history but was unable to find the net. He missed wide in the first half from a good position and had a close-range effort saved in the second. Son entered the game with three World Cup goals across three tournaments and remains hunting his fourth.
Despite the blank, Son contributed well to South Korea's dominance of possession. Manager Hong Myung-bo's side outshot the Czechs throughout and were worthy winners on the balance of play.
Goals Timeline
| Min | Goal | Team | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59' | Ladislav Krejci | 🇨🇿 Czechia | Header from Coufal long throw |
| 67' | Hwang In-beom | 🇰🇷 South Korea | Cut inside, low finish inside post. Assist: Lee Kang-in |
| 77' | — | Disallowed — offside | |
| 80' | Oh Hyeon-gyu | 🇰🇷 South Korea | Header at back post. Assist: Hwang In-beom |
Group A Standings After Matchday 1
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| 🇨🇿 Czechia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 🇿🇦 South Africa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
South Korea's next game is June 18 vs Mexico. Czechia face South Africa on June 18.