◤FIFA World Cup in United States, Canada and Mexico◢ Hwang in-beom scored and assisted as South Korea come from behind to beat Czech Republic with a late 2-1 win..

South Korea dramatically come from behind to defeat the Czech Republic with a late 2-1 win in their opening Group A match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in United States, Canada and Mexico at the Guadalajara Stadium in Mexico on Friday, securing a hard-fought victory.

In the first half, South Korea struggled to find the net despite having numerous shots. In the second half, Krejčí scored with a header, but Hwang In-beom responded by chipping the ball over the goalkeeper. Souček then scored with a header, but it was disallowed for offside. At the crucial moment, Oh Hyeon-gyu scored with a half-volley. Ultimately, South Korea secured a late 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic. After this round of matches, the Taeguk Warriors are currently second in the group with 3 points, while the Repre is third with 0 points.

First Half

In the 12th minute, Lee Jae-sung passed the ball back from the left side of the box. Upon receiving the pass, Son Heung-min volleyed with his left foot from the left side of the box, but his shot was blocked by Robin Hranáč.

1 minute later, Lee Tae-seok crossed into the box from the left wing. Lee Han-beom rose high and attempted with a header in the box, however his effort went over the crossbar.

In the 14th minute, Kim Min-jae passes diagonally from near the midfield center circle. Lee Kang-in quickly followed up, got the ball and took a few steps before taking a left-footed long shot from outside the penalty area, but his shot was saved by Matěj Kovář.

In the 35th minute, Lee Jae-sung passes horizontally from the left wing. Son Heung-min quickly followed up, stopped the ball and adjusted his angle before taking a right-footed long shot from 25 yards outside the penalty area, but his shot flew high and went out of the pitch.

2 minutes later, South Korea launched a quick counter-attack. Jaroslav Zelený made an error while clearing the ball in his own back half. Kim Min-jae intercepted the ball and passes horizontally from the right wing. Son Heung-min quickly followed up, got the ball, dribbled and cuts inside before taking a left-footed long shot from the edge of the penalty area, but his shot went just wide of the bottom left corner of the post.

In the second minute of the first half, Lee Tae-seok passes horizontally from the left side of the box. Son Heung-min quickly followed up and upon receiving the pass, strucked the ball with his left foot from the center of the box, but his shot was blocked by Tomáš Souček.

At halftime, the score remained at 0-0 between South Korea and the Czech Republic.

Second Half

Both teams switched sides as the match continued. In the 49th minute, Lee Kang-in played a through ball down the right flank, Hwang In-beom quickly followed up, got the ball and dribbled into the right side of the box before taking a right-footed shot, his shot is initially saved and cleared off not far away by Kovář. After picking up the loose ball, Lee Jae-sung took a left-footed follow-up shot from the center of the box, but his shot was also saved by Kovář.

6 minutes later, Paik Seung-ho played a through ball from the attacking third. After successfully beating the offside trap, Son Heung-min quickly followed up, got the ball and dribbled into the left side of the box before taking a left-footed shot from a difficult angle, but his shot by Kovář.

In the 59th minute, the Czech Republic had a deadly throw-in opportunity. Vladimír Coufal threw the ball into the box from a long distance. Ladislav Krejčí quickly followed up, rosed high and scored with a header from a very close distance in the box, giving the Czech Republic a 0-1 lead!

8 minutes later, Lee Kang-in delivered an overhead pass from near the midfield center circle. After successfully beating the offside trap, Hwang In-beom quickly followed up, got the ball and dribbled into the left side of the box before chipping the ball into the bottom right corner of the empty net over the outrushing Kovář, leveling the score at 1-1 for South Korea! The Feyenoord all-around midfielder finally broke his goal drought for the national team since 2023!

In the 77th minute, the Czech Republic won a free kick. Michal Sadílek took the free kick from outside the penalty area by crossing it into the box. Tomáš Souček rose high and scored with a header, but the linesman immediately raised his flag to ruled that the latter had been caught offside, and the goal was disallowed!

3 minutes later, Hwang In-beom passes horizontally from the byline at the right side of the box. Oh Hyeon-gyu quickly followed up and upon receiving the pass, half-volleyed the ball with his left foot from a very close distance in the box. His shot was deflected into the bottom right corner of the net by Kovář and, giving South Korea a 2-1 lead over the Czech Republic!

2 minutes later, Vladimír Coufal threw a long throw-in into the box. Upon receiving the pass, Adam Hložek strucked the ball with his left foot from a very close distance in the box, but his shot was saved on the goal line by Kim Seung-gyu.

In the fourth minute of injury time, Mojmír Chytil passes horizontally from the right side of the box. Upon the receiving the pass, Michal Sadílek volleyed with his right-foot from the center of the box, but his shot was saved by Kim Seung-gyu.

When the final whistle is blown, South Korea secured a late 2-1 comeback victory against the Czech Republic.

Image source: Internet / Associated Press