South Korea turns the tables on the Czech Republic.

Hwang In-beom led the South Korean national team to its first victory in the 2026 World Cup, defeating the Czech Republic 2-1 on Thursday at the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara as part of Group A.

Hwang scored the equalizer for his team (67) and provided an assist for the second goal scored by substitute Oh Hyun-kyu (80) after Ladislav Krejci had given the Czech Republic the lead (59).

Mexico topped the group after winning against South Africa 2-0 in the tournament's opening match, leading South Korea by a goal difference.

The Korean team achieved its first victory over the Czech side in World Cup finals, after three previous friendly matches (winning one, losing one, and drawing one).

At Akron Stadium (with a capacity of 44,000), where several seats appeared empty amid the presence of Mexican fans, the spotlight was on former Tottenham star and current Los Angeles player Son Heung-min, who delivered a strong performance in the first half, but his substitute Hyun-kyu scored the winning goal.

Son and his teammates repeatedly tried to open the scoring with more than 10 chances during the first half hour, the most notable being a shot from Los Angeles FC star that came close to the right post (39) and another saved by goalkeeper Maty Kovar (59), as he did against Hwang In-beom and Lee Jae-sung on two occasions (49).

Against the run of play, Krejci shocked the Korean team with a header that capitalized on a long throw-in executed by Vladimir Coufal (59).

However, Hwang In-beom equalized when he received a pass from Lee Kang-in, maneuvered around the goalkeeper and defender Ruben Hranac, and placed the ball over Kovar (67).

Son left the field in the 69th minute, making way for Turkish Besiktas striker Hyun-kyu.

Tomas Soucek thought he had added a second for the Czech Republic with a header following a free-kick, but the referee disallowed it for offside (77).

From a coordinated attack, the ball reached In-beom on the right side, who crossed it to substitute Hyun-kyu, who finished it into the net (80).

Goalkeeper Kim Seung-kyu preserved Korea's lead twice by saving attempts from substitutes Adam Hložek (82) and Michal Sadílek (90).