South Korea staged a stunning second-half comeback to record a thrilling win over the Czech Republic in their Group A opener on Friday. Substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu grabbed the winner for Korea in the 80th minute as they beat the European nation 2-1 at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara.The Taeguk Warriors, who are competing in their 11th consecutive FIFA World Cup and led by talismanic Son Heung-min, were frustrated for much of the first half as the Czech Republic, back on soccer’s biggest stage for the first time in 20 years, controlled the defense and frustrated the Asian side’s attacking moves. Beta came closest in the opening period, his speculative effort going just over the crossbar from distance.The former Tottenham striker missed good chances in the first half, scoring five of South Korea’s eight attempts. The Czechs, who chased the game for most of the first half, didn’t have a shot on target until their captain Ladislav Krejci powered home a header from Vladimir Koffel’s long throw for the opening goal in the 59th minute.The match then sprung to life and eight minutes later, Lee Kang-in threaded a pass past the Czech defense and midfielder Hwang-in-Beom did the rest to make it 1-1 before delicately lifting the ball into the far corner, mistaking both his marker and goalkeeper Matej Kovar.Czech Republic’s Tomas Sucic thought he had restored the lead in the 77th minute when he powered home a free-kick header, only for the linesman to correctly rule it offside. With 10 minutes remaining, substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu completed the turnaround in clinical fashion as he latched onto a perfectly timed cutback from Hwang before sliding the ball home at the near post to complete the turnaround.Goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu’s brilliant late save from Michal Sadilek, who had the goal at his mercy, proved the decisive moment in stoppage time as South Korea held on to secure three vital points.This is the first time in four editions of the FIFA World Cup that South Korea have started their campaign on a winning note.The Czech Republic next face South Africa on Thursday, June 18, while South Korea face World Cup co-hosts Mexico on the same day, having beaten South Africa 2-0 in an earlier Group A encounter.
