South Korea open 2026 WC with comeback win over Czech

South Korea started its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign by coming from behind to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in Group A here on Thursday, with Hwang In-beom scoring one and setting up another, reported Xinhua. The Asian side marked its 11th straight appearance at the finals, with Son Heung-min leading the starting line-up, while Patrik Schick started for a Czech Republic side making its first World Cup appearance for 20 years. The first meeting between these two teams at a World Cup saw a goalless first half, with both sides only managing one shot on target in total. South Korea had a golden opportunity in the 55th minute when Lee Jae-sung's perfect weighted pass found Son, but his shot was blocked by goalkeeper Matej Kovar. Despite dominating possession, South Korea failed to convert that into a goal, and it was the Czech Republic that broke the deadlock around the hour mark when Ladislav Krejci headed in from Vladimir Coufal's long throw-in. South Korea drew level in the 67th minute when Lee Kang-in's smart pass sent Hwang through, who shrugged off a defender and dinked the ball over an on-rushing Kovar. The Czechs thought they had restored their lead minutes later, but Tomas Soucek's effort was chalked off for offside. The Taegeuk Warriors turned around the game in the 80th minute when Hwang burst down the right and rolled across for Oh Hyeon-gyu to find the net. The Czech Republic had chances to equalize as the clocked ticked down, but Kim Seung-gyu delivered a string of fine saves to keep it at bay. In the tournament's opening match earlier on Thursday, co-host Mexico beat South Africa 2-0.