South Korea rallied from a goal down to defeat the Czech Republic 2-1 and make a winning start to their World Cup Group A campaign thanks to goals by Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyuon Thursday.
The Koreans joined Mexico on three points at the top of the standings after the co-hosts defeated nine-man South Africa 2-0 in the tournament opener.
There were noticeable areas of empty seats in the stadium, calling the official attendance figure of 44,985 into question, but the vast majority were firmly behind the Koreans.
Their 2-0 win over Germany in the last group match of the 2018 World Cup put Mexico through to the knockout stage and sent Germany out, and that favour has not been forgotten by the locals.
Ladislav Krejci put the Czechs ahead with a fine header, but Hwang soon equalised and turned provider for substitute Oh’s winner.
Oh had come on for the misfiring Son Heung-min, who had five chances in the first half alone but endured an off-day in front of goal and is still two goals shy of the all-time scoring record for his country, failing to add to his 56 strikes.
“Before the match I gave the players two messages to not give up until the end and unite as one and play together,” South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo said.
“We made some mistakes,” Czech coach Miroslav Koubek said. “When I look back at the situations, we could have prevented the opponents from scoring their goals. We created opportunities, but our opponent was very fast.”
It was a game of contrasting styles, the technical quality and passing range of the Koreans versus the brute strength and direct style of the Czechs.
The first half was goalless but the game sprang to life in the second period and it was the Czechs who took the lead after 59 minutes when Krejci rose highest to head home from a long throw by Vladimir Coufal.
South Korea were level eight minutes later and it was a fine goal. Lee Kang-in’s excellent through ball created the shooting opportunity for Hwang and he cut inside before curling a right-foot shot low into the far corner.
Hwang then picked up possession on the right wing and his low cross into the six-yard box was swept into the net by Oh.
The Koreans were undone by a set-piece again when Thomas Soucek headed in a free kick, but the flag was raised for offside as the Czechs’ first game at the World Cup in 20 years ended in defeat.
South Korea next face Mexico on June 18 and the Czechs travel to Atlanta to meet South Africa on the same day. (Reuters)
