South Korea stage late comeback to beat Czechia on World Cup opening day
Key takeaways
- Second-half goals by Oh Hyeon-gyu and Hwang In-beom steered South Korea to a come-from-behind win over Czechia in a Group.
- After a lacklustre first half in which both teams were jeered as they left the field, Czechia took the lead in the 59th minute on a header by captain Ladislav Krejci after a long throw-in into the penalty area.
- South Korea equalised in the 67th minute, when Hwang scored after faking a shot with a nifty move to clear two Czech players.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Second-half goals by Oh Hyeon-gyu and Hwang In-beom steered South Korea to a come-from-behind win over Czechia in a Group. A encounter.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Goals from Oh Hyeon-gyu, left, and Hwang In-beom guided South Korea to a 2-1 comeback win over Czechia in the second match of the World Cup 2026 opening day [Matias Delacroix/AP]By Al Jazeera Staff and The Associated Press Published On 12 Jun 202612 Jun 2026Hwang In-beom scored a goal and set up another as South Korea rallied to defeat Czechia 2-1 in the second match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Thursday night in Zapopan, Mexico.
After a lacklustre first half in which both teams were jeered as they left the field, Czechia took the lead in the 59th minute on a header by captain Ladislav Krejci after a long throw-in into the penalty area.