South Korea net late winner to come from behind and defeat Czech Republic in Guadalajara

The Taegeuk Warriors started the match brightly and came close to taking the lead twice within the first fifteen minutes. Lee Han-beom saw a near post header flash just over the bar, raising the noise levels in the stadium. Then a powerful strike from Lee Kang-in from outside the penalty area forced a crucial save from Matej Kovar to keep the scores level.

In response, Tomas Soucek fired wide from a good position after a corner just before the first half hydration break.

The rest of the first half was a more subdued affair, but Son Heung-min will surely feel he should have broken the deadlock for South Korea after 39 minutes, steering a shot wide in disappointing fashion following a very promising run. With only one shot on target in the first 45 minutes, there was a distinct lack of quality in the final third from both sides as the score remained goalless at half time.

Hong Myung-bo’s team began the second half positively, and Kovar was called into urgent action to deny Hwang In-beom and Lee Jae-sung. The Czech goalkeeper was then required to rescue his side again after 55 minutes, producing a superb block to prevent Son from edging South Korea ahead.

There was always a danger that the latter’s string of missed opportunities could prove costly, and that’s exactly what happened shortly before the hour mark. A long throw from Vladimir Coufal was met by the head of Czech captain Ladislav Krejci inside the box, and his effort flew past Kim Seung-gyu and into the back of the net to mark his sixth goal for his nation.

However, the Repre’s joy was short lived. Kovar was finally beaten midway through the second half after a composed strike from Hwang In-beom set up a grandstand finale.

Drama struck with less than a quarter of an hour remaining when Miroslav Koubek’s side thought they had retaken the lead through an excellent Soucek header, but the goal was immediately ruled out for offside.

Just three minutes later and with full time looming, substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu put South Korea ahead for the first time in the match after receiving a superb pass from Hwang In-beom and turning the ball home from just a few yards out, despite Kovar’s best efforts.

The action certainly did not end there. The Czechs continued to look dangerous from set pieces and a close range strike from substitute Adam Hlozek was somehow turned around the post by Kim Seung-gyu.

Nevertheless, South Korea held on to claim all three points and put themselves in a strong position ahead of their clash with co hosts Mexico in their second group match next Friday. Meanwhile, their opponents’ six match unbeaten streak has come to an end, and they will be desperate to secure their first win of the tournament when they take on South Africa on Thursday.