Key events
Thank you for joining me for a match that promised little and eventually delivered handsomely. I’ll sign off with the first cut match report and a reminder to stay tuned for all the latest news and analysis as the 2026 World Cup bursts into life. See you back here soon.
Next up in Group A we have the two opening match winners playing each other for what you must assume is top spot and the easiest passage into the knockouts – that one is here again in Guadalajara, and the two opening match losers battling for survival in Atlanta.
Czechia were limited. They arrived with a game plan of asserting themselves physically over their opponents but South Korea, and Kim in particular, were rock solid. Set-pieces were their main source of attacking threat and it was a long throw of rare quality that opened the scoring. I’d fancy them to beat South Africa but if they make the round of 32 it’s hard to see them troubling anyone else.
Lee Kang-in was busy and showed plenty of class, and Kim Min-jae was a rock at the back, but it was the scorer of Korea’s equaliser, Hwang In-beom, who was the game’s most important player, dictating terms in midfield, keeping his side in motion, shifting Czechia’s defence around and making decisive forward runs when his team lacked a cutting edge. Credit also to Kim Seung-gyu who made the saves his side needed late on.
A match that offered little in the first half sprung to life after the break with three goals. Czechia opened the scoring through a superbly executed set-piece routine before South Korea’s dominance of possession and ability to work the ball through the lines in the final third paid off.
They did it the hard way but South Korea open their World Cup campaign with a win.
90+5 mins: Another soft free-kick goes Korea’s way and they hump it long to play for territory.
90+4 mins: That was a clutch diving save. Korea then scramble in defence to shut down the second ball.
90+3 mins: SO CLOSE TO THE EQUALISER! Czechia send the ball long, pick up the scraps and Hlozek feeds Sadilek in space inside the box but his driven effort is saved low to his right by the South Korean keeper.
90+2 mins: No cards have been issued tonight, which is a surprise given the way the modern game is played and refereed. Czechia concede another collision free-kick in the middle of the park and again South Korea can take the sting out of the game.
90+1 mins: South Korea win a free-kick on halfway and milk the clock.
90 mins: Six minutes of stoppage time for Czechia to find an equaliser.
89 mins: Czechia enjoy a spell of possession but they do little with it. They shift it from one player to another, seemingly waiting for a runner ahead to target directly but none presents and eventually they just lump a route one through the keeper.
87 mins: Korea have managed to calm this match down again, controlling possession in midfield, working the ball around, keep Czechia in their own half and in perpetual motion. When they concede a turnover the Czechs are exhausted and unable to fashion a concerted attack, allowing Hwang the chance to get into the box, but once he’s there he tries to do too much and he’s dispossessed.
85 mins: Hwang does superbly to spin with his back to goal and feed Eom down the let but the substitute runs the ball out of play. Still, South Korea will be happy with play at that end of the pitch.
84 mins: Czechia win a free-kick on halfway that they hump long. Korea do well to repel the first effort then hack the second ball clear. That has been the story of their defensive effort all night.
82 mins: Both teams go to their benches again as the altitude and heat takes its toll. Park and Kim on for South Korea, Chytil for Czechia. After an unpromising start this match has come to life.
81 mins: Almost an immediate equaliser! Another brilliant long throw from the right, flicked on in the melee, and Hlozek has time and space at the far post but his effort is saved brilliantly on the line by the scrambling Kim Seung-gyu.
80 mins: Korea work the ball down the right channel, Hwang does well to get to it and hook over a perfect low cross into the corridor of uncertainty where the substitute Oh steams onto it and forces it home on the slide from point blank range.
From a goal down to a goal ahead!
78 mins: South Korea go down the other end and threaten through Lee Kang-in but they can’t find the final ball.
76 mins: GOAL! Set-piece magic from Czechia again! Beautiful delivery from the left and Soucek is first to it to thunder another unstoppable header…
Hang on. The flag is up for offside! Superb decision in real time from the assistant. Soucek had just set off a fraction too soon and his white shoulder was visibly in front of the red defensive line. Credit also to the Korean defensive for such a brave high defensive line. They got it right by a matter of inches.
75 mins: Hlozek goes down on the corner of the box under pressure from Lee Han-beom. Good opportunity here for Czechia.
73 mins: Superb skill from Lee Kang-in to spin away from Krejčí and win a free-kick on halfway. You’ve seen yellow cards given for less but I reckon the referee acknowledged the defender could do little do avoid giving away a foul after such a brilliant turn.
72 mins: What will the ambition of the two sides be now? There’ll be plenty of tired bodies playing at altitude in warm conditions. Errors must be minimised.
69 mins: The hydration advert break comes at a good time for me, as after that goal South Korea made a double change with Son Heung-min making way for Oh Hyeon-gyu. Eom Ji-sung is also on the field for Lee Tae-seok.
67 mins: Back to the midfield pass-and-move for Korea. Hwang In-beom is at the heart of it, and just like his earlier opportunity on the right he ghosts into space in the left channel, picked out by a sumptuous through-ball. He still has plenty to do though but as he drifts into the box he shapes to shoot on his left, drags the ball back, bounces three Czechs to the deck and clips a right-footed effort into the far corner with a shot so gentle it seems to move in slow motion until it dribbles over the line. Excellent finish and Korea are deservedly back in this.
The equaliser didn’t take long, and it is richly deserved.
64 mins: A few passages of broken play following the goal and the substitutions, which suits Czechia, who will not be happy to defend deep and keep Korea at arm’s length.
62 mins: And now Czechia replace their entire forward line in a triple substitution. On come Adam Hložek, Tomáš Chorý, and Michal Sadílek.
61 mins: Korea make an immediate change with Hwang Hee-chan replacing Lee Jae-sung.
60 mins: Football eh? Korea have dominated possession and shown the more technically, but it’s Czechia who have taken their opportunity. That was a brilliant set-piece. Credit where it’s due.
59 mins: Of course it’s a header from a set-piece, and this is as pure as they come. An absolute rocket of a long throw from the edge of the box on the right, fizzing over the Korean defender at the near post and onto the forehead of the onrushing Ladislav Krejčí who powers home from six yards out. Brutal and effective.
Against the run of play, Czechia are ahead!
57 mins: If Korea don’t find a goal here they will feel like this is three points that got away against a side there for the taking.
55 mins: Kovar denies Son again! Textbook Korean pass and move through midfield from Hwang In-beom to Lee Jae-sung who eases the ball through to Son but as he shapes to shoot on the edge of the six-yard box Kovar is out quickly to smother the effort at source a la starfish Peter Schmeichel. The corner is flicked away and Korea recycle from halfway.
54 mins: Korea are now dominating possession, keeping the ball away from the increasingly conservative Czechs.
53 mins: Schick is starting to get frustrated with how little change he’s getting from Kim and the poor service he’s receiving from his colleagues. It’s been a long lonely night for the Bayer Leverkusen striker so far.
51 mins: Korea have resumed where they left off before the break, asserting themselves in defence, working the ball neatly in midfield, and using Son’s ability to turn in the final third and drive towards goal.
49 mins: Kovar double save! Czechia drop far too deep and put no pressure on the Korean midfield as they pick their way slowly through the lines until Hwang In-beom can ghost in behind and shoot across goal from the edge of the box. His drive is close enough for Kovar to parry – he should claim it or push it away from danger – but instead he just blocks it into the path of Lee Jae-sung but his slide is repelled by the recovering keeper.
48 mins: Czechia earn a corner on the left. Coufal delivers an inswinger dangerously, dipping just past the near post, but with the ball bouncing it’s a Korean boot first to it to hack clear.
47 mins: Shick and Kim have a right old tussle on halfway in an 80s throwback. Again it’s a demonstration of Korea’s fortitude.
46 mins: We’re back under way in Guadalajara. No changes from either side at the break. Even more obvious empty seats in the posh sections.
Ok, nearly time for the second half. Just time to squeeze in this column from Pablo Iglesias Maurer who was at the Azteca for the opening match.
They broke into song at the final whistle, serenading the team, and each other, with a deafening rendition of Cielito Lindo. It was a beautiful scene. By the time fans started spilling out of the Azteca’s giant portals and into the surrounding streets, much of the strife between protesters and police had died down. It will surely return soon: Mexico’s social and economic problems will not be solved by football. To those in the Azteca on Thursday, El Tri did at least provide a respite.
OPTIMISM ALERT. Here’s Jim Denvir:
“There’s so much to hate about this World Cup. It’s the seventh World Cup I can remember and I don’t think I’ve ever been less excited about it starting. I live in the US, really have no interest in trying to go to any games given the insane price gouging and the disorganization around the stadiums and transport.
But I switched this game on and my first thought was “I really want to go and see a match in this stadium sometime in my life”. I started with no real preference as to who wins but found myself supporting Korea, just because I prefer their style of football. So I have to ask. Is football going to win out despite everything? Is the love of the game going to be enough to overcome all the negatives? For the first time, I actually believe that’s possible.”
As I said off the top, I think this is the most interesting stadium in the tournament and I would gladly shell out a few bucks to watch Chivas de Guadalajara create an atmosphere worth of the volcanic design.
Plenty of correspondence on the subject of hydration breaks, as you might expect.
“Advertisers are NEVER going to give that time back. Football is now a 4 quarter affair. Halftimes will be headed to 20 minutes soon after,” predicts Erik Liekoski.
“This isn’t so much a football match as it is a corporate event,” bemoans Doug Green.
“I’m around long enough to remember concerns in the lead-up to USA’94 that US TV companies would dictate that the games be split into 4 quarters to accommodate lucrative ad-breaks,” Paul Keane offers. “Showing remarkably uncommon backbone, FIFA said the games would be standard regulation halves of 45-minutes (yes, I’ve used the words “FIFA” and “backbone” in the one sentence). Isn’t it refreshing that FIFA is now led by a visionary humanitarian that dictates a 3-minute break for the players to take a 10-second swig of water, purely for their own welfare?”
“Telemundo didn’t run commercials during the hydration break,” Michael Jones informs me. “The Guadalajara crowd charmingly sang “Celito Lindo”.
Dylan Riley informs me there are plenty of Korean fans at the live events at Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul. It would be nice if organisers had found room for more of them at the actual stadium.
“What a lovely looking hedge that is around the field,” remarks Sean Boiling. “I first noticed it behind the goals - a better look than that car park at Stamford Bridge back in the day.”
South Korea are clearly the better of the two sides but they have nothing to show for it at the break. As the half wore on they increasingly found joy in transition as well as working the ball through Czechia’s midfield via Hwang In-beom and Paik Seung-ho to the feet of Son Heung-min.
Czechia have come to assert themselves physically but they are getting no change from a resolute Korean defence.
Not the greatest half of football we will experience this World Cup.
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