With fighting spirit, South Korea’s beauty triumphs over Czech set-piece beasts
GUADALAJARA, Mexico: It was the tale of “Beauty and the Beast” that lit up the Estadio Guadalajara on Thursday, with South Korea’s prettier, stylish football triumphing over the Czech Republic’s rugged, route-one tactics in an adrenaline-fueled World Cup encounter. South Korea were more than worthy of the 2-1 win, showing their trademark indomitable spirit with a come-from-behind victory to join Mexico atop Group A, all packed into the scintillating second half of a match the Asian side dominated. The Koreans had their game plan and stuck to it, taking it to the Czechs throughout, with silky, intricate play and precision passes that put their opponents on the back foot. Talisman Son Heung-min got the lion’s share of the chances, yet — frustratingly — none of the goals. South Korea demonstrated their World Cup pedigree, present in 11 successive tournaments and unbeaten in qualifying with a whopping 40 goals scored, delivering on Thursday an early message of intent that a deep run could be on the cards. Son worked seamlessly with the impressive Lee Kang-in and Lee Jae-sung to create a host of first-half chances, with the trio combining darting runs through the middle with a succession of dangerous pass-and-go moves that they just could not finish. Brute strength and gargantuan throws But in a game of stark contrasts, it was the Czechs and their direct, physical play who scored first through Ladislav Krejci just before the hour with a perfectly timed header from a 35-meter, slingshot-like throw from Vladimir Coufal. South Korea were buoyed by a largely Mexican crowd in Guadalajara that was clearly rooting for them. They kept cool heads and levelled eight minutes later, when Hwang In-beom picked up Lee Kang-in’s