South Korea vs Czechia | FIFA World Cup 2026 — Group Stage | Preview and Prediction

The opening day of the World Cup will also feature another Group A game between two very strong sides in South Korea and Czechia to be played on the 12th June at the Guadalajara Stadium in Zapopan. 

For the game, here we present our preview and prediction.

FIFA WC26 | Group A: KOR vs CZE| 07:30 IST, June 12, 2026

South Korea is coming into this World Cup by finishing top of their group in the third round of the Asian qualifiers. This is their 11th consecutive appearance at the World Cup. Their best performance at the World Cup was in 2002 when they were the co-hosts of the tournament and ended up finishing in fourth place. 

The Taeguk Warriors will go into this game on the back of an inconsistent run, suffering two defeats and winning three games in their last five encounters. South Korea like to play an attacking style and may play in a 3-4-3 formation. Their talisman and captain Heung-Min Son and PSG’s Kang-In Lee will head the attack for the South Koreans. 

As for Czechia, they ended a 20-year wait to appear at the World Cup. However, their path to qualification was a fairly challenging one. Czechia qualified for the tournament through the play-offs, defeating the Republic of Ireland and Denmark in penalty shootouts. Their best World Cup finish came many years back when they finished as runners-up in 1934 and 1962. However, they haven’t been able to get past the group stage the last time they appeared in the competition. 

Czechia’s recent run has been a five-game unbeaten streak as they have three wins and two draws from their last five fixtures. Czechia like to play with a tight defensive structure in a 3-4-2-1 formation and rely on their physicality and set-piece prowess to dominate the opposition. Key players for them in this competition will be Patrik Schick, Tomáš Sou?ek and Vladimir Coufal. 

Coming to this matchup, these two teams have only played once before which South Korea won. However, this could be a cagey affair due to Czechia’s solid defensive structure and South Korea may find it difficult to break down their compact defence. We believe this could be a tight encounter and may end in a draw. 

Score Prediction: South Korea 1-1 Czechia 

Venue: Estadio Guadalajara, Zapopan, Mexico