Hwang In-beom fires South Korea past Czechia 2-1

Hwang In-beom scored and assisted as South Korea recovered from a first-half lull to beat Czechia 2-1 at Guadalajara Stadium, ending their wait for an opening World Cup win since 2010.

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — The jeers had barely faded when Czechia struck.

South Korea looked sluggish in the opening half of their 2026 World Cup match on Thursday night. and both teams were booed as they left the field. But the frustration didn’t last long for the hosts. In the 59th minute. Czechia captain Ladislav Krejci rose to meet a header after a long throw-in into the penalty area. putting Czechia ahead.

South Korea’s reply arrived eight minutes later, and it carried the signature of Hwang In-beom. In the 67th minute, he scored after faking a shot and using a nifty move to clear two Czech players. Then the momentum kept swinging. Hwang. who plays for Dutch club Feyenoord. made the cross from the right flank for Oh Hyeon-gyu’s decisive strike in the 80th minute.

When the final whistle went, the South Korean squad celebrated with their fans behind one of the goals. Afterward, players posed for a photo with the supporters.

South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo didn’t dress it up. “It was our first game and a very difficult one,” he 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.”.

The result carried extra weight because it was South Korea’s first opening World Cup win since they beat Greece in 2010 in South Africa. It was also the third straight time South Korea had beaten a European opponent in the tournament, following wins over Portugal in 2022 and Germany in 2018.

There was plenty of familiar grounding in the way South Korea pressed and kept the ball. Led by star forward Son Heung-min, they controlled possession and outshot the Czechs. South Korea. ranked 25th by FIFA. had most of the significant scoring chances against Czechia. ranked 38th. but failed to capitalize early.

Son entered Thursday with three goals across three prior World Cups. chasing two milestones at once: becoming South Korea’s top goal scorer at the tournament and the Asian player with the most goals in the tournament. On Thursday, he had chances to add more. He missed wide in the first half and then saw a close-range shot saved in the second.

Czechia felt they had a late momentum swing saved by a fine margin. In the 77th minute, the visitors thought they had retaken the lead again from a set piece, but Tomas Soucek’s header was ruled offside.

Czechia coach Miroslav Koubek accepted the loss without flinching at the scoreline. “Probably the better team won,” he said. He added that the outcome could have looked different if not for “some mistakes.” “We played very well, it could have been a draw and we could have won as well,” Koubek said.

The match also played out in front of an unusual atmosphere. The announced attendance was 44,985 at the 45,664-capacity Guadalajara Stadium, where the middle sections held many unoccupied seats and other empties were scattered across the venue. The crowd included FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

South Korea. meanwhile. extended a steady presence on the sport’s biggest stage: it was their 11th straight World Cup appearance and 12th overall. the most of any Asian country. Their best finish remains the fourth-place run at the tournament they co-hosted with Japan in 2002. and since then they have never gone beyond the round of 16.

In the other Group A match on Thursday, co-host Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0 in the tournament opener in Mexico City.

Hwang In-beom South Korea Czechia Oh Hyeon-gyu Ladislav Krejci World Cup 2026 Guadalajara Son Heung-min Feyenoord Gianni Infantino Group A Mexico vs South Africa