South Korea launched their World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic, overcoming missed chances and a second-half scare to claim all three points in Guadalajara.
The Koreans dominated large periods of the match but appeared destined to pay for their profligacy in front of goal until substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu struck the winner 10 minutes from time.
Led by captain Son Heung-min, South Korea controlled the first half and created several clear opportunities but failed to make their superiority count.
Son came closest before the break, first firing over the crossbar and later weaving past two defenders before dragging his effort wide.
Despite being under pressure for much of the contest, the Czech Republic stunned their opponents early in the second half.
Ladislav Krejci put the Europeans ahead against the run of play when he rose at the near post to power a header beyond goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu.
The goal threatened to derail South Korea’s promising start, but the Asian side continued to push forward in search of an equaliser.
Their persistence paid off in the 67th minute when Hwang In-beom produced a moment of quality, cleverly disguising his intention before lifting the ball over Czech goalkeeper Matej Kovar to level the scores.
The Czech Republic thought they had regained the lead shortly afterwards, but their celebrations were cut short when a goal was ruled out.
South Korea capitalised on that reprieve and completed the turnaround in the 80th minute. Hwang turned provider, delivering a cross from the right that substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu calmly converted to spark celebrations among the Korean players.
“When the final whistle sounded after a frantic finish, Son sank to the turf in joy,” as South Korea secured a valuable opening victory.
The result puts South Korea in a strong position ahead of a crucial Group A clash against co-hosts Mexico, who defeated South Africa 2-0 in the tournament’s opening match earlier this month.
The Czech Republic will look to recover when they face South Africa in Atlanta on the same day.
