It was the tale of Beauty and the Beast that lit up the Estadio Guadalajara on Thursday, with South Korea’s prettier, stylish play triumphing over the Czech Republic’s rugged, route-one tactics in an adrenaline-fueled FIFA World Cup encounter.
South Korea were more than worthy of the 2-1 win, showing their trademark indomitable spirit with a come-from-behind victory to join Mexico atop Group A, all packed into the scintillating second half of a match that the Asian side dominated.
South Korea had their game plan and stuck to it, taking it to the Czech Republic throughout, with silky, intricate play and precision passes that put their opponents on the back foot.
Photo: EPA
Talisman Son Heung-min got the lion’s share of the chances, yet — frustratingly — none of the goals.
South Korea demonstrated their World Cup pedigree, present in 11 successive tournaments and unbeaten in qualifying with 40 goals scored, delivering on Thursday an early message of intent that a deep run could be on the cards.
Son worked seamlessly with the impressive Lee Kang-in and Lee Jae-sung to create a host of first-half chances, with the trio combining darting runs through the middle with a succession of dangerous pass-and-go moves that they just could not finish.
Photo: AP
However, in a game of stark contrasts, it was the Czech Republic and their direct, physical play who scored first through Ladislav Krejci just before the hour with a perfectly timed header from a 35m, slingshot-like throw from Vladimir Coufal.
South Korea were buoyed by a largely Mexican crowd in Guadalajara that was clearly rooting for them.
They kept cool heads and leveled eight minutes later, when Hwang In-beom picked up Lee Kang-in’s neat through-pass and turned brilliantly to fool two defenders, before deftly lifting the ball over advancing goalkeeper Matej Kovar.
They seized the momentum and battled hard for the win, going ahead after 80 minutes when Hwang turned provider with a precise low cross for substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu to turn into the net.
Strong and dangerous on almost every set-piece, the Czech Republic stuck with what they knew best as they pushed for an equalizer in a dramatic finish, with Adam Hlozek close to scoring from another gargantuan throw and Tomas Soucek’s headed goal from a free-kick disallowed for offside.
South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo commended his players for their fighting spirit and an approach that went just as he had instructed.
“Before the match I gave the players two messages,” he said. “To not give up until the end, and to unite as one and play together.”
Czech Republic coach Miroslav Koubek praised his players for their effort, but said the better team won and his side needed to add more bite to the attack to stay in the tournament.
“We really made some mistakes, but also made opportunities. Our opponent was very fast,” Koubek told reporters. “The better team won. We had to fight and we did. Now we need to move on. We need to be more attacking and creative in the last 30 metres. In the attack we have room for improvement.”
US President Donald Trump said he would attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday at Madison Square Garden, but said he does not have much sympathy for ordinary basketball fans who cannot afford sky-high ticket prices to do the same. “They can watch it on television,” Trump said aboard Air Force One on Friday as he flew to Wisconsin for an event with farmers, after he was asked about tickets that have climbed as high as US$8,000 each when the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs square off in Manhattan for the first time in the series. “It’s sorta
Two elephants trudged across a makeshift soccer field at Mexico’s Guadalajara Zoo in an attempt to divine the score of the 2026 World Cup’s opening game. The creatures’ choice carried the weight of prophecy: munch on the grass on the side marked with a Mexican flag, or opt for the greenery of opposing South Africa. Their split-second choice to amble over to the former foretold that Mexico would emerge as the winner of the highly anticipated match on June 11. This soothsaying telling exercise follows in the footsteps of South Africa’s animal oracle Paul the Octopus in 2010. “The idea is that the animals
The Oakland Athletics promoted their No. 4 prospect, Lin Wei-en, to Triple-A on Friday, making the 20-year-old the youngest Taiwanese player to reach that level in US baseball. The Athletics assigned the Taiwanese left-hander to their Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators, the day after he was named the Texas League’s Pitcher of the Month for last month. Lin began his professional career last year and advanced from Low-A to High-A and then Double-A in a single season. This year, Lin began the season in Double-A and has pitched 51-1/3 innings over 10 appearances, going 3-1 with 53 strikeouts and a 1.93 earned
About 100 people gathered at a bar in Taipei to watch the FIFA World Cup kick off in Mexico, despite the early hour of 3am last night. All seats had been reserved before the game started, said a clerk at Brass Monkey, a bar in Taipei where customers can watch live sports broadcasts. The Group A clash between Mexico and South Africa drew supporters from multiple continents to the venue. For Misael Alanis, a Mexican student who has lived in Taiwan for two-and-a-half years, the atmosphere was just as important as the game itself. "There are a lot of Mexicans here and you can
RSS