South Korea Defeats Czechia 2-1 in 2026 FIFA World Cup Opener

South Korea defeated Czechia 2-1 to open their 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico on Thursday, taking a big step toward a place in the knockout stage.

Substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu netted the go-ahead goal in the 80th minute at Estadio Guadalajara in Zapopan, near Guadalajara in western Mexico, after the teams had traded a goal apiece earlier in the second half following a goalless opening half.

Ladislav Krejci headed in the match's first goal for Czechia in the 59th minute before Hwang In-beom scored the equalizer eight minutes later.

Hwang then assisted Oh's goal, which came a couple of minutes after a would-be Czechia goal was disallowed on an offside.

This was the fourth time that South Korea won their first match of a World Cup, following 2002, 2006 and 2010. South Korea progressed to the knockout phase in 2002 and 2010.

South Korea's next Group A match will be against Mexico, one of the tournament's three co-host countries, at 7 p.m. next Thursday at Estadio Guadalajara. It will be 10 a.m. next Friday in South Korea.

Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0 in Mexico City in the tournament opener earlier Thursday.

After a careful start by both sides, midfielder Lee Kang-in first tested Czech goalkeeper Matej Kovar from long distance in the 14th minute after receiving a sharp pass from defender Kim Min-jae.

Captain Son Heung-min, appearing in his fourth World Cup to tie the South Korean record, had a few chances in the late stages. In the 38th minute, his right-footed attempt sailed over the crossbar. In the next minute, Son took a left-footed shot from just outside the box, but the ball didn't bend enough as it went wide left of the target.

During stoppage time, Son tried to play a give-and-go with left back Lee Tae-seok but fell down as he was getting ready to take his shot near the penalty spot.

The Czechs didn't look particularly sharp on attack. Their one close chance came in the 22nd minute, when Tomas Soucek had a corner kick go off his leg and travel just right of the net.

South Korea came out of the break determined to get on the board first. Following a one-two pass with Lee Kang-in, Hwang In-beom nearly beat Kovar with a low strike in the 49th minute, and Lee Jae-sung couldn't put the rebound past the down-but-not-out goalkeeper.

South Korea kept knocking on the door. In the 56th minute, Son snuck behind the defense for a left-footed shot from close range, but Kovar was up to the task once again.

But then the Czechs opened the scoring against the run of play in the 59th minute.

Vladimir Coufal launched a long throw to the edge of the six-yard box, and the unmarked Krejci leaped to head the ball home for the 1-0 lead. It was Czechia's first shot on target.

The Taegeuk Warriors responded eight minutes later. Lee Kang-in found Hwang with a smart through ball that sent the defense scrambling. Hwang drew Kovar off his line and cut back into his right foot, and with a couple of defenders on top of him, Hwang calmly chipped the ball into the bottom right corner of the gaping net.

South Korea breathed a sigh of relief in the 77th minute when Tomas Soucek was ruled offside before heading in what would have been the go-ahead goal.

And it was South Korea that grabbed the lead three minutes later.

Hwang played the role of a facilitator this time, as he ran down the right flank and delivered a cross to Oh, who got behind defender Robin Hranac and put his left foot on the ball as he fell.

Kim Seung-gyu then made his presence felt with a couple of match-saving stops down the stretch.

First, he denied Adam Hlozek on a close-range shot that went through the wickets of Seol Young-woo in the 82nd minute. Then about four minutes into the six-minute stoppage time, Kim came to the rescue once again, diving to his right to keep Michal Sadilek's shot out and preserve South Korea's slim lead.