South Korea overcome Czechia via Hwang In-Beom's brilliant display - ESPN

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Hwang In-Beom scored a goal and set up another as South Korea rallied to defeat Czechia 2-1 in the second match of the 2026 World Cup on Thursday night.

After a lackluster 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 Krejcí after a long throw-in into the penalty area.

South Korea equalized in the 67th, when Hwang scored after faking a shot with a nifty move to clear two Czech players. He then made the cross from the right flank for Oh Hyeon-Gyu's decisive strike in the 80th in a match played in front of hundreds of empty seats at Guadalajara Stadium.

«It was our first game and a very difficult one,» South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo said. «The win itself makes me happy, but what's even more positive is that our boys won by not giving up. I knew that we were more than capable of winning, so at 1-1, I told the boys to keep playing the way we've been playing.»

It was South Korea's first opening-round World Cup win since beating Greece in 2010 in South Africa. South Korea beat a European opponent in the tournament for a third straight time, following wins over Portugal in 2022 and Germany in 2018.

The South Korean squad celebrated with its fans behind one of the goals after the final whistle. The players later posed for a photo with the fans behind them.

Let by star forward Son Heung-Min, South Korea controlled possession and outshot the Czechs, who were making their first World Cup appearance since 2006. The South Koreans, ranked 25th by FIFA, had most of the significant scoring chances against the 38th-ranked Czechs but failed to capitalize early.

Son was looking to become South Korea's top goal scorer at the