By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Moises Castillo
South Korea opens up the 2026 World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Czechia on Thursday night. The game took place in Mexico. The Mexican crowd was energetic throughout the night.
Czechia got on the board first. They scored during the 58:12 mark. Czechia scored its first goal in the World Cup in two decades. The team exploded in excitement. The goal came from captain Ladislav Krejci after a long throw-in into the penalty area.
However, South Korea rallied. They did not stay down. Korea tied the game during the 66:46 mark. The goal was not a typical goal you would often see. The run and kick was unique and unbelievable to witness. Hwang In-Beom scored the goal after he faked the kick, which caused the goaltender to miss his opportunity to block the pass. Two Czechs got fooled by Hwang as well.
Almost at the 80:00-minute mark, South Korea scored the second goal of the game, giving them the lead. It was a great attack offensively by Korea to put it in the net. What a response by the Korea team. The fans are what make this event much more thrilling and exciting. The Korean goaltender did a good job, especially at the 82:00-minute mark, making critical saves.
Korea got their first win of the tournament as they are part of Group A. As fun as the match was, it would’ve been much more electrifying if there had been sold-out seats. There were some empty seats in the Stadium. One contributing factor is that World Cup ticket prices are very steep. Many fans would rather watch the World Cup from home.
Czechia waited two decades for this moment, only to end in defeat. Korea moves on and waits for its next opponent. The World Cup will run for weeks.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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