Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: South Korea opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 2-1 comeback win over Czechia at Estadio Guadalajara in Zapopan on Friday morning.
The first half ended goalless, although both sides had opportunities to open the scoring. Although Czechia started the match brightly, South Korea gradually piled pressure on their European opponents with a series of attacks. Captain Son Heung-min had three chances to open his account, including two in the final 10 minutes, but lacked the finishing touch.
Czechia looked bright on the counterattack but lacked clinical finishing.
Ladislav Krejci gave Czechia the lead in the 59th minute. Krejci headed in from the edge of the six-yard box after connecting to a long throw from Coufal.
South Korea leveled the score in the 67th minute. Lee Kang-in received a beautiful pass from Lee Gi-hyuk deep in midfield and fired an incisive pass into the penalty area. Hwang In-beom collected the pass and drew the Czechia keeper Kovar off his line before depositing a chipped finish into the far corner.
The Asian side took the lead in the 80th minute as Hwang In-Beom ran down the flank and delivered a beautiful pass to substitute Oh Hyeon-Gyu who slid the ball past the Czech keeper.
With the victory, South Korea are second on the table with three points after hosts Mexico, who defeated South Africa 2-0 in the tournament opener early Friday morning.
