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World Cup 2026: South Korea fights back for 2-1 win over Czechia in pivotal opener

One of the most uncertain groups of the 2026 World Cup was Group A, with Mexico, South Korea and Czechia all legitimate contenders to reach the knockout rounds. South Korea took a major step toward making that happen in its opener on Thursday.

Playing in front of a friendly crowd in Guadalajara, South Korea defeated Czechia 2-1 in a comeback win.

Neither team mounted much of an attack in the first half, but Czechia broke through in the 59th minute on a perfect set piece. The 6-foot-3 Ladislav Krejcí connected on a header off a throw-in to open the scoring.

As thrilling as that was for Czechia, it also seemed to unlock something in South Korea. They were much more aggressive on the ball once playing from behind and that soon bore fruit with an equalizer by Hwang In-Beom in the 67th minute.

Czechia, making its first World Cup appearance in two decades, appeared to take back the lead minutes later, but was called for being offside. Then South Korea took the lead for good on a gorgeous goal by Oh Hyeon-Gyu.

Korean captain and LAFC star Son Heung-min had his chances to join the fun with a match-high six recorded shots, but was held scoreless.

South Korea will get the next big test with Mexico on Thursday, while Czechia will face South Africa. Mexico had little trouble dispatching the underdog earlier Thursday, winning 2-0.

After one day of play, Mexico and South Korea have the upper hand to advance, while Czechia faces a must-win against Mexico to close group play assuming it takes care of business against South Africa.

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