Summary

South Korea 2-1 Czech Republic (FT). Group A, FIFA World Cup 2026. Our model's pick was South Korea at 39% — it called it.

South Korea vs Czech Republic Result, Stats & How Our Model Did

South Korea2-1Czech Republic (FT) in this World Cup 2026 Group A tie, with the full stats, timeline, and an honest look at whether our model called it.

How Our Model Did

Where they go from here

South Korea

74%Advance

5%Semi

1%Final

0%Champion

Czech Republic

63%Advance

2%Semi

1%Final

0%Champion

Our model called it

We made South Korea our pick at 39%, and that's how it finished (2-1). The structural model called this one. See our methodology.

Model pick: South Korea 39% Structural: 39/32/29 Actual: South Korea win (2-1)

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Final Result FT

Fri, Jun 12 · Zapopan · Match 1 · Group A

South Korea

Czech Republic

Full-time Score Model called it

2 FT 1

South Korea Czech Republic

Model pick: South Korea at 39%. Called it. Full breakdown

FT · model called it Match stats

What the model weighs

Warm HumidZapopan conditions

0 / 0 kmTravel, SOU / CZE

30 days eachRest before kickoff

Neutral venueNeither side at home

1560 mZapopan elevation

100% Independent Structural · Live · Market No manufactured edges

Match Report

South Korea edged past Czech Republic 2-1 in Group A at World Cup 2026, Matchday 1. Ladislav Krejčí, set up by Vladimír Coufal, opened the scoring on 59'. Moments later, In-beom Hwang, set up by Kang-in Lee, levelled it at 1-1 on 67'. Hyeon-gyu Oh, set up by In-beom Hwang, edged South Korea in front on 80'.

South Korea controlled the ball with 62% possession and 15 shots to Czech Republic's 8. An expected-goals figure of 2.00 to 0.84 says the scoreline matched the balance of play. xG measures chance quality, not just shot count. South Korea generated the clearer chances by some distance.

Our structural model had made South Korea the 39% favourite, and it called this one right. The full pre-match split was South Korea 39%, Draw 32%, Czech Republic 29%. See our methodology for how the model is built.

Match Stats Compare Sites

Match Stats

South Korea

FT 2 - 1

Czech Republic

xG 2.00 vs 0.84

Total shots

Shots on goal

62%

Possession

38%

Corners

Fouls

87%

Pass accuracy

71%

Saves

Shots outside box

Blocked shots

Shots inside box

Shots outside box

Offsides

542

Total passes

323

Yellow cards

Live match data from the gaffer pipeline. No invented numbers.

Match Timeline

South Korea came from behind to beat Czech Republic 2-1 in their World Cup 2026 Group A clash. All three goals arrived after the restart, in a second half that also brought a disallowed effort, a booking, and nine substitutions.

South Korea

2 - 1 FT

Czech Republic

3 Goals

1 Yellow Cards

0 Red Cards

9 Substitutions

4 Key Moments

No goals, cards, or substitutions in this half.

59'

Ladislav Krejčí Assist: Vladimír Coufal GOAL

62'

Jae-sung Lee for Hee-chan Hwang SUB

64'

Pavel Šulc for Adam Hložek SUB

64'

Patrik Schick for Tomáš Chorý SUB

64'

Lukáš Provod for Michal Sadílek SUB

67'

In-beom Hwang Assist: Kang-in Lee GOAL

69'

Tae-seok Lee for Ji-sung Eom SUB

69'

Heung-min Son for Hyeon-gyu Oh SUB

77'

Tomáš Souček Goal Disallowed - offside VAR

80'

Hyeon-gyu Oh Assist: In-beom Hwang GOAL

84'

In-beom Hwang for Jin-gyu Kim SUB

84'

Seung-ho Paik for Jin-seob Park SUB

84'

Alexandr Sojka for Mojmír Chytil SUB

90'

Gi-hyuk Lee YELLOW

Lineups

Confirmed team news and starting line-ups for South Korea vs Czech Republic in this World Cup 2026 Group A clash. South Korea set up in a 5-4-1 and Czech Republic in a 5-3-2, with key players and substitutes for both sides below. Ladislav Krejčí and In-beom Hwang scored from the starting XI.

South Korea vs Czech Republic

South Korea 5-4-1 Confirmed XI

Heung-min Son Key player · 6.7

Jae-sung Lee Key player · 7.0

Seung-gyu Kim Key player · 7.0

Goalkeeper

1 Seung-gyu Kim 7.0 GK

Defence

4 Min-jae Kim 6.8 CB

22 Young-woo Seol 6.9 RB

3 Gi-hyuk Lee 7.2 CB

13 Tae-seok Lee 7.1 LB

2 Han-beom Lee 6.8 CB

Midfield

19 Kang-in Lee 7.5 AM

10 Jae-sung Lee 7.0 AM

8 Seung-ho Paik 6.8 CM

6 In-beom Hwang 8.0 DM

Attack

7 Heung-min Son 6.7 LW

62' Hee-chan Hwang for Jae-sung Lee

69' Ji-sung Eom for Tae-seok Lee

69' Hyeon-gyu Oh for Heung-min Son

84' Jin-gyu Kim for In-beom Hwang

84' Jin-seob Park for Seung-ho Paik

Czech Republic 5-3-2 Confirmed XI

Tomáš Souček Key player · 6.5

Vladimír Coufal Key player · 6.7

Patrik Schick Key player · 6.4

Goalkeeper

1 Matěj Kovář 6.6 GK

Defence

5 Vladimír Coufal 6.7 RB

20 Jaroslav Zelený 6.7 LB

7 Ladislav Krejčí 6.9 CB

4 Robin Hranáč 6.2 CB

6 Štěpán Chaloupek 6.0 CB

Midfield

22 Tomáš Souček 6.5 DM

15 Pavel Šulc 6.6 AM

24 Alexandr Sojka 6.8 CM

Attack

10 Patrik Schick 6.4 CF

17 Lukáš Provod 6.7 LW

64' Adam Hložek for Pavel Šulc

64' Tomáš Chorý for Patrik Schick

64' Michal Sadílek for Lukáš Provod

84' Mojmír Chytil for Alexandr Sojka

Key player (most caps in the XI) Scored in this match Subbed off

Match Analysis

Our structural model and the market land in the same place on this one, so there is no team-side edge to chase. What makes it interesting is our live-form lens, which weights recent results and reads the game differently from the base model. Here is the case on both sides, honestly.

South Korea's Outlook

Their last outing: a loss vs South Africa (0-1). Live-form lens has them at 42%, broadly in line with the structural model.

Heung-min Son (Forward, 34) is one of the names the squad model leans on.
Jae-Sung Lee (Midfielder, 34) is one of the names the squad model leans on.

Czech Republic's Outlook

Last time out: lost vs Mexico (0-3). Live-form lens: 28%.

Tomáš Souček (Midfielder, 31) carries real weight in the squad metrics.
Vladimír Darida (Midfielder, 36) carries real weight in the squad metrics.

Key Matchups

The model expects roughly 2.28 goals here.

BTTS at 46% and Over 2.5 at 40% point to how open the model expects this to be.
The South Korea win line (39%) is the single most likely team outcome.

Our Take

No clean 1X2 value: structure and market agree, so the favourite is a fair price, not an edge.

The honest angle is the lens split, not a value claim.
Trust recent form over season-long structure? The live lens is the contrarian read, with the variance that implies.

Tale of the Tape

Side-by-side comparison of the model's key probabilities and tournament outlook.

South Korea AFC

Group A, 3rd

UEFA Czech Republic

Group A, 4th

38.7% Favourite

Win Probability

29.3%

73.7%

Advance to Knockout

62.6%

4.6%

Reach the Semis

2.5%

1.5%

Reach the Final

0.7%

0.42%

Champion Chance

0.17%

1.20 Stronger attack

xG per Match

0.77

Insight: Our model gives South Korea the edge, fractionally ahead on all six measures: a higher win probability, better knockout odds and a clearer path to the semis.

View full match stats Group A standings & all matches

Group A: standings & all matches

Key Players

The names that decide a tight game. International caps and goals are real squad data from the model's pipeline. Squad strength is one of the primary inputs the structural model weighs.

South Korea

Heung-min Son C

Forward · 34 · LAFC (USA)

145Caps

56Goals

Jae-Sung Lee

Midfielder · 34 · 1. FSV Mainz 05 (GER)

106Caps

15Goals

Seung-Gyu Kim

Goalkeeper · 36 · FC Tokyo (JPN)

87Caps

0Goals

Hee-Chan Hwang

Midfielder · 30 · Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (ENG)

80Caps

17Goals

Czech Republic

Tomáš Souček C

Midfielder · 31 · West Ham United FC (ENG)

91Caps

17Goals

Vladimír Darida

Midfielder · 36 · FC Hradec Králové (CZE)

79Caps

8Goals

Vladimír Coufal

Defender · 34 · TSG Hoffenheim (GER)

63Caps

2Goals

Patrik Schick

Forward · 30 · Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER)

54Caps

26Goals

Recent Form & Head to Head

L0-1

vs South Africa

L0-1

vs Mexico

W2-1

vs Czech Republic

W1-0

vs El Salvador

W5-0

vs Trinidad and Tobago

View match analysis

L0-3

vs Mexico

D1-1

vs South Africa

L1-2

vs South Korea

W5-1

vs Guatemala

W2-1

vs Kosovo

View match analysis

4 meetings on record between South Korea and Czech Republic.

Year	Score
2026	South Korea 2-1 Czech Republic
2016	Czech Republic 1-2 South Korea
2001	Czech Republic 5-0 South Korea
1998	South Korea 2-2 Czech Republic

View match analysis

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Frequently Asked Questions

How did South Korea vs Czech Republic end?

South Korea 2-1 Czech Republic (FT) in the Group A stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026, at Zapopan. Full stats, the timeline, and lineups are above.

Did the model get South Korea vs Czech Republic right?

Yes. Our structural model made South Korea the pick at 39% (39/32/29), and the match finished south korea win (2-1). The model called it.

When and where was South Korea vs Czech Republic played?

Friday, June 12, 2026, Zapopan. Group A stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026. A neutral venue for both sides.

How does the model do over a full tournament?

One match is one data point. The structural model reads each tie 39/32/29 and we publish every call, hits and misses alike, so the track record stays honest. See our methodology for how the model weighs squad strength, form, and ratings.

What was the head-to-head record between South Korea and Czech Republic?

Before this match, South Korea and Czech Republic had met 4 times: 2 South Korea wins, 1 Czech Republic win, 1 draw.