South Korea edges Czechia 2-1 in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier

ZAPOPAN, Mexico, June 11 (Yonhap) -- They lacked clinical touch early on, but South Korea kept knocking on the Czechia door and came away with a one-goal victory to kick off their 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico on Thursday.

On the flip side, the Taegeuk Warriors were also fortunate to beat the Europeans 2-1 in their Group A contest at Estadio Guadalajara as their defense showed some cracks.

After Ladislav Krejci put the Czechs on the board in the 59th minute, Hwang In-beom equalized for South Korea eight minutes later and then set up Oh Hyeon-gyu's go-ahead goal in the 80th minute.

The teams were goalless in the first half, though it wasn't for a lack of effort on South Korea's part.

Son Heung-min, in particular, had a couple of good looks at the net -- sending a right-footed shot high in the 38th minute and then firing a left-footed shot wide left of the target in the next minute.

Misses from the dangerous area after creating chances have long been the feature, not the bug, for this team, though seeing their most trusted and accomplished attacker struggle to put a shot on goal was disconcerting.

South Korea emerged from the break with even more determination on the offensive end. Lee Jae-sung had the best chance four minutes after the restart, but he couldn't poke home the rebound of the initial shot by Hwang.

Then Czechia scored against the run of play, and it came on a dead-ball play in which they capitalized on their height advantage.

In the days leading up to this showdown, South Korean players spoke often about having to defend the Czechs' aerial attacks, with several of their outfield players listed at 190 centimeters or taller.

And one such player, the 191-centimeter Krejci, soared to meet a long throw by Vladimir Coufal and head it past helpless goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu.

South Korea nearly conceded another set-piece goal in the 77th minute, when Tomas Soucek headed home a free kick for what would have been the go-ahead marker, only to be ruled offside.

South Korea's persistence ultimately paid off as they found space behind the Czech defense for both of their goals.

On the equalizer, Lee Kang-in's deft through ball gave Hwang a good look at the net. Oh's goal started with Paik Seung-ho's sweeping pass that found Hwang down the right flank.

Once South Korea grabbed the lead, it was Kim Seung-gyu's turn to shine as he bailed out his defenders with massive saves.

Adam Hlozek nearly scored through the legs of defender Seol Young-woo in the 82nd minute, but Kim slid to his right to keep it out of the goal. And during stoppage time, Kim dove to his right to grab Michal Sadilek's shot, which came off a counter break as South Koreans scrambled to get back into their own box.

South Korea finished with a 50-40 edge in ball possession, with the remaining 10 percent of the time ruled "in contest" by FIFA. The Taegeuk Warriors had 15 shot attempts to Czechia's six, and the winning team had six shots on target, two more than the losing side.