South Korea come from behind to beat Czechia at the 2026 World Cup

South Korea claimed a comeback victory over Czechia in the second match of the opening day of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Group A match took place in Zapopan, Mexico, and ended in a 2-1 win for the South Korean side.

The first half produced no goals, while Czechia opened the scoring after the break. In the 59th minute, Ladislav Krejci found the net following an assist from Vladimir Coufal to put the European team in front.

However, South Korea managed to get back into the game quickly. In the 67th minute, Hwang In-beom equalized, and in the 80th minute he then provided the assist for the winning goal. Oh Hyeon-gyu scored the decisive goal, giving his national team three crucial points at the start of the tournament.

After the match, Oh Hyeon-gyu revealed that he had taken the field despite not being in his best physical condition.

“I cannot explain my emotions in words. My body temperature today had gone up to 38 degrees because I wasn’t feeling well. I wondered if I could even play. It was possible thanks to our staff and medical team. Playing at the World Cup itself is something that I should be grateful and thankful for. As a striker, I am relieved and thankful,” said the scorer of the winning goal.

South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo spoke after the match about the character his team showed, as they managed to turn the game around after conceding first.

“It was our first game and a very difficult one. The win itself makes me happy, but what’s even more positive is that our boys won by not giving up. I knew that we were more than capable of winning, so at 1-1, I told the boys to keep playing the way we had been playing,” Hong Myung-bo said.

Hwang In-beom was named Player of the Match after scoring one goal and providing one assist.

In the first match of Group A, Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0. After the opening round, Mexico and South Korea both have three points, while Czechia and South Africa started the tournament with defeats.

Group A after the opening day

1. Mexico — 3 points
2. South Korea — 3
3. Czechia — 0
4. South Africa — 0