South Korea - Czechia: score, highlights and statistics

South Korea and Czech Republic meet in their opening Group A fixture at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Guadalajara - a match that carries enormous weight for both teams from the first whistle.

Match Info: South Korea vs Czech Republic

South Korea face Czech Republic in Group A of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on 12 June 2026, with kick-off at 03:00 BST at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara. This is the first-ever World Cup meeting between the two nations, who share Group A alongside hosts Mexico and South Africa.

Where to Watch South Korea vs Czech Republic?

Viewers in the United States have the widest range of options. The match is available on Fox Sports 1 and Telemundo on television, with online alternatives including Foxsports.com, Fubo TV, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, and FOX One. Spanish-language radio coverage is provided by Futbol de Primera Radio.

In Canada, the match can be streamed on TSN+. Australian fans can tune in via SBS On Demand, while viewers in New Zealand have access through TVNZ+. Czech supporters can follow their team on ČT Sport Live - the national broadcaster's online platform. In Poland, the match is broadcast free-to-air on TVP 2, with an online stream available on sport.tvp.pl and the TVP Sport App.

Elsewhere, the match is broadcast on beIN SPORTS CONNECT in France, DAZN España in Spain, DAZN Italia in Italy, CazéTV in Brazil, DIRECTV GO in Argentina, and VIX in Mexico.

South Korea vs Czech Republic - Match Preview

South Korea bring a decade-long World Cup consistency and the presence of Son Heung-min; Czech Republic end a 28-year absence from the tournament - two contrasting narratives that collide in a match neither side can afford to lose.

Group A is genuinely open. Mexico, as co-hosts, carry the home advantage, but no team in the group is clearly superior to the others, and an opening win here could define the entire trajectory of a campaign. South Korea, ranked 22nd by FIFA, hold a slight edge over Czech Republic (ranked 44th) on paper, but the Czechs earned their place through one of the more dramatic qualifying campaigns in recent UEFA memory - defeating Denmark in a play-off final on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Son Heung-min, the Tottenham captain and South Korea's all-time leading scorer, arrives at 33 in what may be his final World Cup. Everything in the Korean attack flows through him. Czech Republic will look to Tomáš Souček's engine from midfield and Antonín Barák's creative instincts higher up. A compact defensive shape and quick transitions have been their trademark, and they will not give South Korea space cheaply.

Head-to-Head: South Korea vs Czech Republic

These two nations have met just 3 times in their recorded football history, and the balance is almost perfectly even: 1 win for South Korea, 1 draw, and 1 defeat - confirming that neither side has established meaningful dominance over the other ahead of their first-ever World Cup encounter.

All confirmed meetings between South Korea and Czech Republic:

• 27 May 1998 - Friendly - South Korea 2:2 Czech Republic
• 15 August 2001 - Friendly - Czech Republic 5:0 South Korea
• 5 June 2016 - Friendly - Czech Republic 1:2 South Korea

South Korea - Recent Form

South Korea head into the tournament with 3 wins, 0 draws, and 2 losses in their last 5 matches, having scored 9 goals and conceded 5 - a picture of productive attack tempered by defensive vulnerabilities that Czech Republic will study closely.

Their most recent match before the tournament sent the most positive signal: a commanding 5-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago on 31 May 2026 showed precisely the clinical edge Korea carry when firing on all cylinders. Before that, the results were harder to read. A 0-4 home defeat to Ivory Coast in March 2026 was a sobering reminder of what can happen when the defensive structure is exposed, and a 0-1 loss to Austria on the road in the same international window indicated that South Korea remain capable of struggling against well-organised European opposition.

The November 2025 windows told a better story: 1-0 against Ghana and 2-0 against Bolivia confirmed that Son Heung-min's side know how to win clean, controlled matches. The challenge in Guadalajara will be replicating that composure against a Czech side with the physical tools and tactical discipline to make life difficult.

Czech Republic - Recent Form

Czech Republic arrive at the 2026 World Cup unbeaten in their last 5 matches - 3 wins and 2 draws - with 12 goals scored and only 4 conceded, a run of form that underlines why they are not to be underestimated despite their long absence from the tournament.

The story of how Czechia reached Mexico is almost as important as the results themselves. Their two play-off matches in March 2026 told the whole tale: a 2-2 draw against Republic of Ireland in the semi-final, then a 1-1 draw against Denmark in the final - and a place at the World Cup secured on penalties. The ability to stay level-headed across those two knockout situations, against quality UEFA opposition, speaks to a resilience that cannot be manufactured in friendlies.

The pre-tournament warm-ups reinforced the picture. A 6-0 dismantling of Gibraltar in November 2025 set the tone, before a 1-0 win over San Marino and a final pre-tournament victory over Kosovo on 31 May 2026 - 2-1 - confirmed the Czechs are arriving in form, focused, and ready heading into one of the biggest nights in their recent football history.

Facts and Statistics

5 key facts about the South Korea vs Czech Republic rivalry ahead of their 2026 World Cup encounter:

• South Korea and Czech Republic have never met at a World Cup - the match on 12 June 2026 is the first in the history of the tournament between these two nations.
• Czech Republic's appearance at the 2026 World Cup ends a 28-year absence - their only previous appearance as an independent nation was France 1998, where they reached the round of 16.
• South Korea are making their 12th consecutive World Cup appearance, a run stretching back to Mexico 1986.
• The largest margin of victory in the head-to-head belongs to Czech Republic: a 5-0 win over South Korea in a friendly on 15 August 2001.
• Czech football carries the legacy of Czechoslovakia, who twice reached the World Cup final - in 1934 and 1962.