32.
04:34
Then Pavel Šulc simply hits the ball in the right half of the field. That was born out of necessity. The ball rises high and flies in a high arc almost towards the goal. Seung-gyu Kim has to be on his guard, but ultimately doesn’t need to intervene because the ball lands on top of the goal roof.
31.
04:32
The game still takes regular breaks. The players take their breaks. Nothing is rushed here.
29.
04:31
The Czechs are constantly working to gradually equalize in terms of possession. In any case, it can be said that Miroslav Koubek’s men have arrived in the tournament. So it’s a pretty open matter.
27.
04:28
But the next interruption follows immediately. After a hearty grab from Han-beom Lee, Pavel Šulc’s jersey gave way. The Czech player is instructed by the referee to change his clothes. Fortunately, replacements are quickly at hand.
25.
04:27
It feels like you’re done a little earlier. Play will resume.
23.
04:26
Afterwards there is the official refreshment break of the first half. FIFA calls this a hydration break and it should generally last three minutes.
22.
04:24
When the Czechs’ third corner comes in from the right, this time kicked by Alexandr Sojka, things get a bit dangerous. However, Tomáš Souček doesn’t seem to expect the ball to get through to him. This means there is no controlled finish and the ball bounces past Seung-gyu Kim’s goal to the right.
21.
04:22
Vladimír Coufal takes the second Czech corner and takes it straight away. His high cross is aimed at Patrik Schick, but the Leverkusen striker is marked closely and cannot get a header.
18.
04:21
As the wave sweeps through the Estadio Akron, the Czechs at least gain a few more shares of the game and thus indicate that they also want to do something for the game.
16.
04:18
Gi-hyuk Lee loses the ball to Lukáš Provod. The Czechs show their determination for the first time and get into the box on the right. Patrik Schick is looked for and a corner jumps out. This brings in nothing afterwards.
14.
04:16
Kang-in Lee takes off from the second row and half-left position. The Champions League winner from Paris Saint-Germain delivers a tight and somewhat fluttering left-footed shot. Matěj Kovář parried it with some effort.
12.
04:14
The matter is now developing quite one-sidedly in favor of South Korea. Kang-in Lee plays high into the box. Jae-sung Lee tries to get the ball under control, then passes it to the advancing Heung-min Son. Robin Hranáč blocks his shot.
11.
04:12
Now the Asians try the first corner of this game. On the right, Kang-in Lee takes action. His cross is weak and does not cause any danger.
8.
04:10
The Czechs are increasingly concentrating on defending, closing the shop at the back and making life difficult for their opponents. But even with a free kick from Heung-min Son you can’t make it into the penalty area sustainably.
6.
04:08
The South Koreans are currently appearing more active and are attacking from the left. Then a cross hisses into and through the box and no player can handle it.
4.
04:06
Both teams try hard to keep the game going in the early stages. So it’s quite varied. However, there are still no significant approaches to the goal.
2.
04:03
By the way, Czech Republic’s Miroslav Koubek becomes the oldest coach in World Cup history at the age of 74, taking over this title from Hugo Broos, who is only a few months younger. The South African coach was only allowed to adorn himself with this title for a few hours. But Koubek will also be replaced on Sunday. Then Dick Advocaat is on the sidelines for Curaçao at the age of 78.
1.
04:01
Game start
03:59
Five of the six games in Group A take place in Mexico. The venue for our encounter today is officially called the Guadalajara Stadium during the World Cup. Specifically, the arena is located in Zapopan, in the state of Jalisco and is usually called Estadio Akron.
03:58
Both national teams meet for the first time ever in a competitive game. So far there have only been three friendly comparisons. In 1998 it all started with a 2-2 draw. A clear 5-0 win for the Czechs followed in 2001. In 2016, the South Koreans took revenge with a 2-1 win.
03:53
Czechoslovakia played in eight World Cup finals until 1990 and were runners-up in 1934 and 1962. 14 years later, the CSSR celebrated their greatest success as European champions. The Czech Republic only took part in a World Cup in 2006 and failed in the preliminary round. Now there is another attempt. You earned it in the qualification. Although they initially only managed second place behind Croatia in Europe Group L, the Czechs showed strong nerves in two playoff games in March, prevailed against Ireland and Denmark in penalty shootouts and thus secured their ticket to the World Cup.
03:44
This is the twelfth time that the South Koreans are playing in a World Cup finals. After the debut in 1954 there was a 32-year break, but since 1986 the two-time Asian champion (1956, 1960) has always been there. By far the best performance came from 2002. Back then, the team stormed into the semi-finals as co-hosts and finished the tournament in fourth place. They qualified for the current World Cup through two group phases and finished first in each of them. First they faced China, Thailand and Singapore in the second round. In the third group stage they left behind Jordan, Iraq, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait. South Korea remained completely undefeated.
03:34
Myung-bo Hong took part in four World Cups as a player between 1990 and 2002, playing 16 World Cup games. Now the 57-year-old is coaching South Korea for the second time and in this role at its second World Cup finals. Hong is particularly relying on South Korean record player Heung-Min Song, who has 147 international matches to his name and is also the Taeguk Warriors’ all-time top scorer with 56 goals. In addition to the 33-year-old captain, who once also played for Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen, there are also three current Bundesliga professionals in the ranks: Min-Jae Kim from FC Bayern Munich, Jens Castrop from Borussia Mönchengladbach and Jae-Sung Lee from Mainz 05. Tae-seok Lee is under contract with Austria Vienna.
03:26
The Czech Republic’s squad is all made up of World Cup newcomers – after all, it’s been 20 years since they last took part in the World Cup. The most experienced player in coach Miroslav Koubek’s squad is Tomáš Souček. The West Ham United midfielder already has 90 international caps under his belt. The most accurate striker is Patrik Schick with 26 goals. The Leverkusen player is part of a quartet of Bundesliga professionals. Vladimír Coufal, Robin Hranáč and Adam Hložek all play for Hoffenheim.
16:01
Hello and welcome to the second game of Group A between South Korea and the Czech Republic. The ball starts rolling in the Guadalajara stadium from 4:00 a.m. Central European Time!