South Korea World Cup victory took its place amongst the top World Cup tales for the opening round after the Czechs were beaten 2-1 by Hong Myung-bo and his side in Guadalajara. South Korea were in control of much of the game but bounced back with plenty of quality, resilience and intention to win all three points in the first match of the tournament.

It’s the first time in four World Cup editions that South Korea will emerge with a win and it’ll be an important win before a key matchup with co-host Mexico. Led by captain Son Heung-min and the inspiration of midfielder Hwang In-beom, the Asian side had the potential to be one of the tournament’s big boxes off.

First of all, South Korea dominated the match from the start. It was Son Heung-min from whom almost all the attacks came from and who seemed to be in joi de vivre. The former Tottenham Jayhawks star scored five of his country’s first half tries and harried the Czech defence time and time again with his ability to move and find space.

Overall, the competition was a blow for South Korea, though its goalkeeper, Matej Kovar, caused problems for them. His best save was when he made a nearpost runout at Son as the forward seemed set on a goal scoring opportunity. South Korea kept pushing against us and possessed the ball, and set up opportunities, but failed to break us.

For football, however, there could be crueller; The then Czech Kingdom took advantage of its first decent chance. They were particularly impressive as they failed to score from a shot on target until they reached the 59th minute. Ladislav Krejci’s long shot from Vladimir Coufal made for a hassle outside of the box and the Czechboy rose highest to reap upon the ball’s impact, quickly putting the Czech hosts 1-0 down a runner.Ladislav Krejci’s long throw from Vladimir Coufal caused a problem outside the box and the captain soared to his best with a high forehead to take the shot, giving the Czech side a surprise 1-0 lead.

The objective took traditional South Korea and their fans by surprise on the sidelines of Estadio Guadalajara. Losing control of the game for just under an hour, they then found themselves competing with a team that was averaging only 0.0 attacking points per day.
Luckily for South Korea, this was responded to with a quick and impressive reply. Hwang In-beom was the catalyst in the comeback. It took just 8 minutes to the opener by Krejci to see a pass into the box into Lee Kang-in’s legs for Hwang, stopping by.

The midfielder of the Feyenoord showed the utmost tranquility. Kovar was on a rush around his line to try to close the angle and Hwang somehow profited from Kovar’s haste, maybe by faking, before taking delicate control of the ball and hitting it neatly over the goalkeeper into an empty net. It triggered cheers from the South Korean supporters and took the moment from the game.

From then on, the South Koreans appeared to be the more likely side to come up with a winner. However, in the 78th minute, Tomas Soucek tried to even the score for the Czechs with a header on a free-kick, but it was to no avail. South Korea’s defense were caught out but that was soon eased by the assistant referee who called for offside and the goal was disallowed.

That was the key. It was two minutes later when South Korea made a complete U-turn. But this time, forward Hwang In-beom was vital as he curled in a welcome cross. It was a precise pass for Oh Hyeon-gyu who used his first shot of the night from near him in the 80th minute to swing it 2-1 in favour of Anaheim.

The goal was greeted by wild celebrations in the South Korean scrum and from their fans. However, there was more work to be done.
Then, goal-kicker Kim Seung-gyu assured the Korean joy of having won the World Cup would not go down without a fight. The veteran keeper made a fantastic save to foil Adam Hlozek soon after Jablonka’s net to see the tie go. It came back into Kim’s body of work again after a good half-time, when he made another vital save against Michal Sadilek to deny him a rescue of the game.

Son Heung-min garnered a considerable amount of pre-match attention, but Hwang In-beom has truly been the star of the night. His brilliant Player of the Match performance, including goals and assists, gets him a rating of 7.88 and he was almost de rigueur as a player in the middle of the park.

The victory puts the Korean side in a nice spot, going into their next group-stage match against Mexico. The Czechs will aim to get on top of things when they are facing South Africa in their second match.

In conclusion, the South Korea World Cup win showcased the team’s character, tactical discipline, and ability to respond under pressure. They were not demoralized when they trailed, but came back by making good use of their attacking opportunities and holding people in check. South Korea could become one of the most dangerous sides in the tournament with this type of form and could be a serious threat to get into the knockout round.

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