Substitute Oh Hyeon-Gu emerged as South Korea’s hero as the Asians fought back to secure a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic in their opening match of the FIFA World Cup in Guadalajara.
The Koreans dominated much of the encounter but initially found themselves frustrated by Czech goalkeeper Matej Kovár before a late turnaround sealed all three points.
South Korea started brightly, with captain Son Heung-Min blazing over the bar early on, while Lee Han-Beom also failed to hit the target with a header.
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-In later tested Kovár with a powerful long-range strike.
Despite struggling to create clear opportunities, the Czech Republic stunned their opponents midway through the second half.
Captain Ladislav Krejcí rose unmarked to power home Vladimír Coufal’s long throw, giving the Europeans the lead with their first real attempt on goal.
South Korea responded strongly and eventually found an equaliser eight minutes later through Hwang In-Beom.
The midfielder showed brilliant composure inside the box, wrong-footing both Kovár and defender Robin Hranác before calmly finishing into an empty net.
The comeback was completed in the 79th minute when Oh Hyeon-Gu turned in Hwang’s low delivery, with the ball slipping through Kovár’s hands and into the net.
The Czech Republic thought they had drawn level late on through Tomás Soucek, but his header was ruled out for offside.
South Korea then relied on goalkeeper Kim Seung-Gyu, who produced two important saves in the closing moments to preserve the victory.
