South Korea vs Czechia: World Cup group match – teams, start and lineups

Who: South Korea vs Czechia
What: FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A match
Where: Estadio Guadalajara, Zapopan, Mexico
When: Thursday, 8pm section clip (02:00 GMT Friday)
How to follow: Keep up with each updates connected Al Jazeera Sport

South Korea, Asia’s astir palmy squad astatine the World Cup, statesman their 2026 run with a crippled against Czechia, who are backmost astatine the tourney aft a 20-year absence.

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With a talented squad featuring Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae, erstwhile semifinalists South Korea – who are ranked 25th successful the satellite – are favourites successful the Group A clash and volition beryllium keen for an aboriginal triumph successful a pugnacious radical that besides includes cohosts Mexico and South Africa.

But 40th-ranked Czechia are nary pushovers. With players similar Adam Hlozek, Patrik Schick and Pavel Sulc, they are much than susceptible of pulling disconnected an upset.

Son Heung-min volition beryllium starring South Korea successful his 4th World Cup quality [File: Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters]

Son leads South Korea’s charge

As always, each eyes volition beryllium connected South Korea’s superstar Son Heung-min, who present plays his nine shot for Los Angeles FC.

Set for his 4th quality astatine the finals, the 33-year-old erstwhile Tottenham winger could beryllium appearing successful his last tournament, though it’s not confirmed.

Fans volition beryllium hopeful of the skipper featuring connected the scoresheet aft helium scored doubly successful a caller friendly.

The Koreans reached the past 16 successful 2022, with Hwang Hee-chan scoring a stoppage-time victor against Portugal to instrumentality his squad ‌into the knockout rounds. The Wolverhampton Wanderers guardant is present keen for a repetition show astatine the upcoming tournament.

“If I tin person different play similar that, it volition beryllium large for myself and for our team,” said Hwang, who volition beryllium appearing astatine his 3rd World Cup. “I americium moving hard for a infinitesimal similar that.

“Every lucifer is important, but the archetypal lucifer is particularly so.”

Czechia: Two-time runners-up

As Czechoslovakia, the Czech squad finished runners-up successful 1934 and 1962. But since then, their grounds has been poor, with lone 4 appearances, including conscionable 1 past the radical signifier – a quarterfinal tally successful 1990.

The Czechs are present backmost astatine the World Cup aft 20 agelong years, having navigated their mode to the finals done melodramatic punishment shootout wins successful the UEFA qualifiers.

The assignment of manager Miroslav Koubek successful December 2025 turned astir their fortunes arsenic they went from having a crisis-hit run to finishing the occupation with flying colours.

Czechia’s Tomas Chory heads successful a extremity during the 3-1 tourney tune-up lucifer against Guatemala connected June ⁠6 [File: David W Cerny]

Now, aft 2 decades, arsenic they instrumentality to football’s grandest stage, the Czechs volition anticipation to sneak into the knockouts.

With two-metre (6ft 7-inch) Slavia Prague striker Tomas Chory astatine their disposal, Koubek’s broadside volition question to enforce their physicality connected the ⁠South Koreans.

They are blessed with much attacking firepower successful Bayer Leverkusen striker and Euro 2020 associated apical scorer Schick, portion Hoffenheim striker Hlozek offers different experienced enactment up front.

Koubek volition besides thin connected West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek ‌and ‌35-year-old Vladimir Darida to supply acquisition and stability.

How does the World Cup radical signifier work?

South Korea, Czechia, Mexico and South Africa are successful Group A.

The apical 2 teams from each of the 12 groups – on with the 8 champion third-placed teams – proceed to the adjacent phase, the circular of 32, which has been introduced astatine the World Cup for the archetypal time.

All quadrate successful head-to-head record

South Korea and Czechia person met 3 times, winning 1 lucifer each, portion the different crippled ended successful a draw.

Their past gathering dates backmost to June 2016 – precisely a decennary agone – erstwhile South Korea emerged 2-1 winners successful a affable successful Prague.

Form guide:

(Last 5 games, latest first)

South Korea: W-W-L-L-W

Czechia: W-W-W-W-W

Czechia are successful good signifier heading into the opener, having beaten Kosovo and Guatemala successful their pre-World Cup friendlies. Before that, they bushed Denmark and Ireland connected penalties successful the UEFA qualifying playoffs, and besides thrashed Gibraltar.

South Korea, connected the different hand, are successful mixed form. They bushed El Salvador and thrashed Trinidad and Tobago successful the pre-World Cup friendlies, but mislaid to Austria and the Ivory Coast.

Where to ticker South Korea vs Czechia?

Fans successful South Korea tin ticker the crippled connected platforms Chzzk and JTBC, with kickoff scheduled astatine 11am section clip connected Friday.

In Czechia, CT Sport Plus, CT Sport and Nova Action volition amusement the game, which is acceptable to statesman astatine 4am section clip connected Friday.

Viewers successful the United Kingdom tin ticker it connected ITV, portion those successful the United States tin tune successful to Fox.

South Korea and Czechia squad news

Coach Koubek has a enactment headache awaiting.

With Hlozek precocious recovering from injury, and Sulc and Lukas Provod besides successful the mix, Koubek needs to marque the pugnacious telephone connected which 2 attackers volition enactment Schick.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s manager Hong Myung-bo has to contend with immoderate concerns.

Winger Bae Jun-ho – 1 of the youngest players successful the squad – is simply a large uncertainty owed to an ankle injury, but left-back Lee Tae-seok has returned to squad grooming aft a sore calf.

South Korea’s predicted starting XI

Kim Seung-gyu (goalkeeper); Kim Min-jae, Lee Han-beom, Lee Gi-hyuk; Seol Young-woo, Lee Tae-seok, Hwang In-beom, Paik Seung-ho; Lee Kang-in, Lee Jae-sung; Son Heung-min

Czechia’s predicted starting XI

Matej Kovar (goalkeeper); Vladimir Coufal, David Doudera, Tomas Holes, Ladislav Krejci, Jaroslav Zeleny; Tomas Soucek, Michal Sadilek; Adam Hlozek, Pavel Sulc, Patrik Schick

Watch retired for Patrik Schick, Czechia’s main attacking menace [File: David W Cerny/Reuters]

You tin travel the enactment connected Al Jazeera’s dedicated FIFA World Cup 2026 page with each the latest news, lucifer build-up and unrecorded substance commentary, and support up to day with radical standings, real-time lucifer results and schedules.