By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-06-12 02:06:54 | Updated at 2026-06-12 11:08:16
9 hours ago
Follow along with the best live stats and facts from the opening game at the 2026 World Cup with our South Korea vs Czechia stats page.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the South Korea vs Czechia stats from their 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage meeting at Estadio Guadalajara.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
South Korea vs Czechia: Pre-Match Opta Facts
- This will be the first FIFA World Cup encounter between South Korea and Czechia. Their three previous meetings all came in friendlies, resulting in one win apiece and one draw. The most recent clash occurred a decade ago in June 2016, a 2-1 victory for Korea Republic in Prague.
- This will be South Korea’s 12th FIFA World Cup tournament, the most of any Asian nation. 2026 will be their 11th consecutive appearance at the finals stretching back to 1986 – only Brazil (23), Germany (19), Argentina (14) and Spain (13) are on longer runs of consecutive participations.
- South Korea’s best FIFA World Cup performance came in 2002, when they finished fourth as co-hosts of the tournament. Outside of home soil, South Korea have never progressed past the round of 16.
- Czechia are making their first FIFA World Cup appearance in 20 years. In their last participation in 2006, they were eliminated in the group stage despite winning their opener 3-0 against the United States. They made eight appearances as Czechoslovakia, finishing as runners-up in 1934 and 1962.
- South Korea have the lowest win rate among teams with 30+ FIFA World Cup matches, winning seven of their 38 games (18.4%). However, they have won each of their last two matches against European opposition: 2-0 over Germany in 2018, 2-1 against Portugal in 2022.
- 12 of South Korea’s last 13 goals at the FIFA World Cup have been scored in the second half.
- South Korea were the only unbeaten side in the AFC qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They won 11 and drew five of their 16 matches. The only side they failed to beat were Palestine (D2).
- Czechia scored more set-piece goals than any other team in UEFA qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup (11 of 22), including a competition-high seven from corners. Their seven goals from headers were second to Norway (8).
- Czechia qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup via the play-offs, beating the Republic of Ireland and Denmark on penalties following 2-2 draws in both matches.
- Son Heung-Min has been directly involved in four of South Korea’s last 10 FIFA World Cup goals, scoring three times and delivering one assist. He also recorded the most goal involvements for South Korea during the 2026 qualifying campaign (10 goals, 4 assists).
- Hong Myung-Bo will lead South Korea at a FIFA World Cup for the second time, having managed the team in 2014, where they failed to win a match (D1 L2). Hong Myung-Bo captained the side to a fourth-place finish in 2002 – the nation’s best-ever performance in the tournament.
- 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.
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