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South Korea start an 11th-straight World Cup campaign against the Czechs in Guadalajara in the second match in Group A.
The Asian side were unbeaten in qualifying and come into the tournament under legendary player Hong Myung-bo who is back in charge after also overseeing the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
“A World Cup is not a place to learn; it is a place to prove yourself,” said Hong recently.
“We have a balanced group with immense quality, but execution under pressure will dictate our journey.”
South Korea were beaten in the last 16 by Brazil in 2022 and will be hoping to reach the knockout stages again.
The Czechs needed a play-off to qualify for their first World Cup in 20 years and will be making memories for a whole new generation.
Team news for South Korea v Czechia
South Korea still lean heavily on Tottenham legend Son Heung-min, with the Los Angeles FC forward scoring 56 times for his country.
Son is two goals away from equalling the goalscoring record for South Korea and is joined in attack by Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chan and PSG forward Lee Kang-in.
Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae is another big name to watch.
Czechia have plenty of players from their own league but Patrik Schick of Bayer Leverkusen is the major threat ahead of West Ham stalwart Tomas Soucek.
Expected line-ups for South Korea v Czechia
South Korea: Kim Seung-gyu; Lee Gi-hyuk, Kim Min-jae, Lee Han-beom; Seol Young-woo, Hwang In-beom, Paik Seung-ho, Lee Tae-seok; Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Jae-sung; Son Heung-min
Czechia: Kovar; Chalupek, Hranac, Krejci; Coufal, Cerv, Soucek, Jurasek; Conduction, Sulc; Chic
The stats
- South Korea’s best World Cup performance came in 2002, when they co-hosted the tournament – they finished fourth. Away from home they have never progressed past the round of 16.
- This will be the first World Cup encounter between the sides. Their three previous meetings all came in friendlies, resulting in one win apiece and one draw. The most recent clash occurred a decade ago in June 2016, a 2-1 victory for Korea in Prague.
- Czechia scored more set-piece goals than any other team in UEFA qualifying for the 2026 World Cup (11/22), including a competition-high seven from corners. Their seven goals from headers were also second only to Norway (8).
How to watch South Korea v Czechia
The match kicks off at 03:00 BST and is broadcast on ITV and STV in the UK. It can be streamed on ITVX.
Check out where all the World Cup matches will be shown here.
Prediction
Czechia are a physical threat and could score from set-pieces, but they lack tournament experience and South Korea will prove to have enough.
South Korea 2-0 Czechia
