South Korea produced a comeback to earn an entertaining 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic in Group A of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Estadio Akron in Mexico.

The Taegeuk Warriors started the match brightly and created the first clear chances inside the opening 15 minutes. Lee Han-beom came close with a close-range header that just cleared the bar, while Lee Kang-in forced a strong save from Matej Kovar with a powerful strike from distance.

The Czech Republic responded before the first-half hydration break when Tomas Soucek fired wide from a promising position following a corner.

The rest of the first half became a more cautious affair, although Son Heung-min missed a good opportunity to open the scoring in the 39th minute, sending his effort wide after a strong run. With only one shot on target in the opening 45 minutes, both sides struggled to produce quality in the final third, and the match went into halftime goalless.

South Korea improved after the break, with Kovar quickly called into action to deny Hwang In-beom and Lee Jae-sung. The Czech goalkeeper again kept his side level in the 55th minute, producing an excellent save to stop Son from giving South Korea the lead.

There was always a concern that Czech Republic’s missed chances would come back to haunt them, and that proved true just before the hour mark. A long throw from Vladimir Coufal was met by captain Ladislav Krejci, whose header flew past Kim Seung-gyu to give the Czechs the lead and mark his sixth international goal.

However, their advantage did not last long. Midway through the second half, Kovar was finally beaten when Hwang In-beom produced a composed finish to set up a tense closing stage.

Drama followed with less than 15 minutes remaining when Miroslav Koubek’s side believed they had regained the lead through a well-taken header from Tomas Soucek, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

Just three minutes later, South Korea turned the game around. Substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu scored from close range after a brilliant pass from Hwang In-beom, finishing calmly despite Kovar’s attempt to intervene.

The excitement continued until the end, with the Czech Republic still dangerous from set-pieces. Substitute Adam Hlozek came close with a close-range effort, but Kim Seung-gyu produced a superb save to push the ball away.

In the end, South Korea held firm to secure all three points, strengthening their position ahead of a key group match against co-hosts Mexico. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic’s six-match unbeaten run came to an end, and they will now look to bounce back against South Africa in their next fixture.