The first Asian victory in the World Cup... South Korea defeats the Czech Republic with a double
The South Korean national team began its campaign in the 2026 World Cup with a valuable victory over its Czech counterpart with a score of (2-1), in the match that brought them together in the first round of the group stage.
The match witnessed great competition between the two teams, as the first half ended in a goalless draw despite mutual attempts on both goals, before the pace of excitement increased during the second half.
The Czech national team was the first to score, after Ladislav Krejci succeeded. He scored in the 59th minute with a powerful header that gave his country the advantage in the score.
But the South Korean team’s response did not take long, as Hwang In-beom was able to equalize in the 67th minute after a distinguished individual effort and wonderful dribbling inside the area, before putting the ball in the net, announcing his country’s return to the atmosphere of the match.
The Korean pressure continued during the following minutes in search of the winning goal, which was achieved in the 80th minute when Oh Hyun succeeded. Geo scored the second goal, completing his country's comeback and leading it to its first victory in the tournament.
The Czech team tried to come back during the remaining minutes, but the Korean defense succeeded in maintaining its lead until the final whistle, to score three valuable points at the beginning of its World Cup campaign.
With this victory, the South Korean team raised its score to three points, sharing the top spot in Group A with the Mexican team, which opened the tournament with a victory over South Africa by 1-3. (2-0), while the Czech and South African teams remained without points after the first round.
With this victory, the South Korean team sends a strong message to its competitors in the group, confirming its desire to compete for one of the two qualification tickets to the next round of the 2026 World Cup.
