Look ahead to South Korea vs Czechia in Group A at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with our match prediction and preview. Which side has the edge in the Opta supercomputer’s pre-match simulations?
South Korea vs Czechia: The Key Insights
- The Opta supercomputer rates South Korea as favourites for this Group A clash, with a win probability of 42.9% to Czechia’s 31.1%.
- This will be South Korea’s 12th World Cup tournament, the most of any Asian nation.
- Czechia scored more set-piece goals than any other team in the UEFA section of qualifying (11).
South Korea and Czechia will be looking to lay down an early marker when they meet in their World Cup 2026 Group A opener.
This tournament marks South Korea’s 12th World Cup appearance, the most of any Asian nation. This also represents their 11th consecutive participation stretching back to 1986, with only Brazil (23), Germany (19), Argentina (14), and Spain (13) currently on longer streaks.
Their best performance came back in 2002, when they finished fourth as co-hosts, with current coach Hong Myung-bo captaining the team on that memorable run. Outside of home soil, though, they have never progressed past the round of 16.
Thursday’s contest at Estadio Guadalajara represents a good chance to get off to a flying start, but South Korea have the lowest win rate among teams to play 30+ World Cup matches (18.4%). They have, though, won their past two World Cup games against European nations (2-0 over Germany in 2018, 2-1 against Portugal in 2022).
Moreover, Hong – leading his country at a World Cup for a second time after 2014 – saw his team go unbeaten in AFC qualifiers, winning 11 and drawing five of 16 matches.
They have also garnered a bit of momentum in their two warm-up contests, thrashing Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 before defeating El Salvador 1-0.
Vastly experienced captain Son Heung-Min remains a dangerman for his country at the age of 33, and has been directly involved in four of Korea’s past 10 World Cup goals (3 goals, 1 assist). The former Tottenham forward, now with LAFC in MLS, also registered the most goal contributions in qualifying (14 – 10 goals, 4 assists).
Czechia will certainly sense an opportunity too, as they gear up for a 10th World Cup appearance (eight as Czechoslovakia) and a first since 2006, where they failed to get out of the group stages despite an opening 3-0 win over the USA.
The two-time runners-up (1934 and 1962) qualified via the play-offs, defeating the Republic of Ireland and Denmark on penalties after drawing both games 2-2.
During their qualifying campaign, they scored more set-piece goals than any other team in the UEFA section (11/22), including seven from corners. Additionally, their tally of seven headed goals was second only to Norway (8).
Patrik Schick has scored six goals in seven major tournament appearances for Czechia, including finishing joint-top scorer at Euro 2020 alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. He was also Czechia’s top scorer during the 2026 qualifiers, with three of his five goals coming from headers.
Head coach Miroslav Koubeck has only been in his role since December 2025, taking over after Czechia finished second in their qualifying group behind Croatia. He successfully oversaw those aforementioned play-off successes against Ireland and Denmark.
Koubeck’s side have warmed up nicely for the tournament, too, defeating Kosovo and Guatemala 2-1 and 3-1, respectively, in friendlies prior to their Group A opener.
South Korea vs Czechia Head-to-Head
This fixture marks the first time these nations have faced off in a World Cup clash.
They have met on three previous occasions, all of which were friendlies. Those matches produced a win apiece and one draw.
South Korea were the victors the last time they faced Czechia, a 2-1 victory in Prague back in June 2016.
South Korea vs Czechia Prediction
There are just 14 spots separating the two nations in the FIFA World Rankings, with South Korea currently 25th and Czechia 39th.
As such, the Opta supercomputer is predicting a close contest, with South Korea the slight favourites with a win probability of 42.9%.
Czechia, meanwhile, are given a 31.1% chance of emerging victorious, while the draw is rated as a 26% shot.
In terms of the overall competition, Korea Republic are given a 21.3% chance of topping Group A and a 70.0% probability of reaching the last 32. Their chances of winning overall are a meagre 0.40%, though.
Czechia are currently rated as a 17.9% shot to top Group A, though they too have a high chance of making it out of the pool and have a 64.3% probability of reaching the knockout stages.
This will be the second game to be played in Group A at the 2026 World Cup, with Mexico vs South Africa being played earlier in the day.
South Korea vs Czechia Squads
South Korea: Kim Seung-Gyu, Song Bum-Keun, Jo Hyeon-Woo, Lee Han-Beom, Lee Gi-Hyuk, Kim Min-Jae, Kim Tae-Hyeon, Lee Tae-Seok, Cho Wi-Je, Kim Moon-Hwan, Seol Young-Woo, Hwang In-Beom, Paik Seung-Ho, Lee Jae-Sung, Park Jin-Seob, Bae Jun-Ho, Lee Kang-In, Jens Castrop, Kim Jin-Gyu, Lee Dong-Gyeong, Son Heung-Min, Cho Gue-Sung, Hwang Hee-Chan, Oh Hyeon-Gyu, Yang Hyun-Jun, Eom Ji-Sung.
Czechia: Matej Kovár, Jindrich Stanek, Lukás Hornícek, David Zima, Tomás Holes, Robin Hranác, Vladimír Coufal, Stepán Chaloupek, Ladislav Krejcí, David Jurásek, Jaroslav Zeleny, Vladimír Darida, Lukás Cerv, Pavel Sulc, Lukás Provod, Michal Sadílek, David Doudera, Tomás Soucek, Alexandr Sojka, Hugo Sochurek, Denis Visinsky, Adam Hlozek, Patrik Schick, Jan Kuchta, Mojmír Chytil, Tomás Chory.
South Korea vs Czechia Predicted Lineups
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