South Korea 2-1 Czech Republic: How a clash of styles shaped a deserved comeback win

South Korea got their 2026 World Cup campaign off to a winning start on Thursday. At the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, the Asian side came from behind to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in the opening round of Group A.

The Europeans did open the scoring, through a Ladislav Krejci goal early in the second half, but within the space of 13 minutes Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu transformed the match.

The whole result was built on the clash of the two sides' contrasting styles. The Tigers, with their constant passing and movement, scored precisely through quick exchanges, with a decisive contribution from their midfielders. The Czech team, by contrast, were highly physical, leaned on set pieces and almost finished with a better return.

South Korea vs Czech Republic: How the game unfolded

The opening period did have balanced possession (55% to 45% in the Asians' favour), but one side was far superior. South Korea found plenty of space behind the holding midfielders and, from there, Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min had good chances to score, only to fail with their finishing.

The Czech Republic, lacking a midfielder with a passer's profile, struggled to link their lines and were dangerous only when they won a corner for Tomas Soucek to fire wide.

The second half did not change the South Korean picture, with goalkeeper Matej Kovar shining with two decisive saves. The difference came for the Naroďak – the European side's nickname – through greater effectiveness from set pieces, with the scoring opened that way from a Vladimir Coufal throw towards the six-yard box for Krejci to head home.

The quality of the Taeguk Warriors shone through, however, with two fine goals from long passing moves. Hwang In-beom, after a ball from Lee Kang-in, cut past his man and produced a delicate dink. The goalscoring midfielder then collected a through-ball from his midfield team-mate Paik Seung-ho and crossed for Oh Hyeon-gyu to score and bring justice to the scoreline.

South Korea vs Czech Republic: The contrasting styles told

From the very first minute, the difference in the teams' philosophies was clear. The South Korean side relied on passing through midfield and a technical, high-movement attack, generally coming out on top.

With Paik and In-beom distributing in the middle, Lee Kang-in and Son shone with good combinations. The PSG man was the more creative, supplying decisive passes, such as for the equaliser, while the Los Angeles FC forward offered rapid attacks against a slower European defence.

The Czech Republic lined up with a generally unhurried side. It was a very physical team, with an average height of 1.87m, that had enormous difficulty when the moment came to move the ball along the ground. That difficulty changed, however, when crosses came into the box, particularly from set pieces.

The throw-in goal exposed this. South Korea are not as physical and strong as the Europeans, who almost regained the lead through a Soucek goal ruled out for offside from a free kick worked into the box. Another throw into the area, this time after the Korean turnaround, caused nightmares, and Kim Seung-gyu had to save a shot from Adam Hlozek with a fine stop.

The In-beom goal came after more than 20 touches of the ball. Krejci's did not even require the use of a foot. The clash of styles, perfectly illustrated by Opta, told in South Korea's win.

59th minute, South Korea 0-1 Czechia: no feet necessary.
67th minute, South Korea 1-1 Czechia: feet everywhere. pic.twitter.com/NO2jtjsgAv
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) June 12, 2026

An intriguing backdrop to Group A's second round

It will be interesting to see how the styles of the winner and the loser fare against the group's other opponents. The Czech Republic, for example, will face South Africa, a side affected by their 2-0 defeat but whose style is closer to that of the South Koreans.

Bafana Bafana also like to have the ball, to play out from the back and to show plenty of courage in possession. It remains to be seen whether the prospect of the game becoming a 'final' – with a second defeat all but confirming elimination – will change the sides' styles.

South Korea face Mexico, who, buoyed by their win, are faster and more intense, a match-up that could prove trickier when the hosts go direct. The answers will come next Thursday (18 June), in the second round.