South Korea recovered from a goal down to defeat the Czech Republic 2-1 and make a winning start to their World Cup Group A campaign, much to the delight of their fans and the considerable Mexican home support they enjoyed in a festive Guadalajara on Thursday.
The Koreans joined Mexico with three points at the top of the group after the co-hosts defeated nine-man South Africa 2-0 in the tournament’s opener in Mexico City.
Ladislav Krejci put the Czechs ahead with a fine header as the European team dominated in the air, but Hwang In-beom equalized shortly after and assisted substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu’s winning goal.
Oh replaced Son Heung-min, who had five chances in the first half alone, but had a poor day in front of goal and is still two goals shy of the team’s all-time scoring record, failing to add more than his 56 goals.
South Korea will face Mexico on June 18 and the Czechs will travel to Atlanta to face South Africa on the same day.
There were obvious patches of empty seats in the stadium, but the vast majority of the 44,985 in attendance were firmly behind the Koreans.
It was a match of contrasting styles, the technical quality and passing ability of the Koreans versus the brute strength and direct style of the Czechs.
The first half was goalless, but the match came to life in the second half and it was the Czechs who took the lead in the 59th minute, when Krejci rose highest to head home Vladimir Coufal’s long shot.
South Korea equalized eight minutes later and it was a good goal too. Lee Kang-in’s excellent pass created a shooting opportunity for Hwang In-beom and he cut inside before firing a low right-footed shot into the far corner.
Korea were beaten again on a set piece when Thomas Soucek headed in a free kick, but the flag was raised for offside as the Czechs’ first World Cup match in 20 years ended in defeat.
