South Korea fought back for a deserved 2-1 victory in their World Cup opener against the Czech Republic on Thursday.
They were the better team throughout the game, forcing Czech keeper Matej Kovar into several big saves, but fell behind in the 59th minute.
Against the run of play, a clinical long throw-in found Ladislav Krejčí, who broke the deadlock with a header.
South Korea equalized in the 67th as Hwang In Beom chipped the ball over Kovac as they finally managed to beat the keeper.
The Czechs thought they had the lead again in the 77th, but Tomas Soucek’s effort was ruled out for offside.
Just three minutes later, South Korea were on target again with substitute Oh Hyeon Gyu scoring the deserved winner.
“It was our first game and a very difficult one. The win itself makes me happy, but what’s even more positive is that our boys won by not giving up,” South Korea coach Hong Myung Bo said.
South Korea are tied on three points at the top of Group A with co-hosts Mexico, who earlier defeated South Africa 2-0.
Mexico and South Korea will battle for the group lead on June 18, when the Czechs face South Africa.
Kovar shines but not enough for the win
The Czech Republic are returning to the World Cup for the first time since Germany 2006 and are hoping to emerge as one of the surprise packages.
Goalkeeper Kovar was the star of the team in the first game with several stunning saves, but in the end that was not enough to grab a point.
He was called into action already in the 14th to deny a long-range effort from Lee Kang In.
In the 49th, he made a double save to keep his side into the game. Hwang shot across goal from the edge of the box but his drive was parried by Kovar. The ball fell into the path of Lee Jae Sung, but the keeper recovered in time to stop his effort.
Shortly before the opening goal, Kovar rushed off his line to thwart Son Heung Min.
But South Korea were too strong and eventually converted their dominance into goals to take all three points.
Striker Oh spoke about a dramatic return from illness to score his nation’s decisive second goal: “My body temperature today had gone up to 38 degrees (Celsius), because I wasn’t feeling well.
“I wondered if I could even play. It was possible thanks to our staff, and medical team. Playing at the World Cup itself is something that I should be grateful and thankful for.”
