South Korea secures first win by overcoming Czech Republic; Son Heung-min's poor form questioned by Korean media

Written by Han Bing On the morning of June 12th Beijing time, in the first round of Group A of the World Cup, South Korea overturned the Czech Republic 2-1 to claim their first win in this tournament. At the 69th minute, Hong Myung-bo replaced the sluggish Son Heung-min with Oh Hyeon-gyu, which sparked an immediate turnaround in South Korea's offense, culminating in a comeback goal. The substitution was praised by Korean media and fans as a "masterstroke." After the match, outlets including the sports sections of *The Korea Daily*, *The Chosun Ilbo*, and *Sports Chosun* voiced doubts about Son Heung-min's poor performance, with further discontent expressed on social media platforms by Korean supporters.

The sports section of *The Korea Daily* ran a sharp headline: "How Many Chances Did He Miss... Son Heung-min Was the Worst Performer Against the Czech Republic." The report stated that Son, as the team's attacking core, squandered multiple scoring opportunities. Although South Korea ultimately defeated the Czechs, Son was singled out as the weakest player on the pitch. The article also noted that before the match, Son had deliberately walked to the area near the Korean cheerleading squad to applaud and boost morale. While his high pressing, passing, and counter-attacking dribbles were decent, his finishing let the team down. He attempted six shots without finding the net—most notably, a one-on-one chance in the 11th minute of the second half was saved by Czech goalkeeper Kovar. In the 69th minute, Hong substituted him off. The report concluded that if South Korea wants to go further, Son must quickly rediscover his form.

South Korea's specialized sports newspaper *Sports Chosun* argued that Hong's bold decision to bench star player Son was the "stroke of genius" behind the comeback victory. However, how to properly utilize Son remains a major challenge for Hong. Son is tied with Park Ji-sung and Ahn Jung-hwan as South Korea's all-time World Cup top scorers (3 goals), and one more goal in this match would have set him alone at the top, but his form was disappointing. *The Chosun Ilbo*'s sports section emphasized that Son had six shots in the first 68 minutes—the most on the team—yet his expected goals (xG) of 0.65 yielded nothing, making his performance a letdown. In contrast, Oh Hyeon-gyu, who played despite a 38°C fever and scored the decisive goal, received widespread praise from both media and fans.

Hong Myung-bo, who had faced significant criticism earlier, now earned unanimous approval from Korean media. First, his preparation plan was praised: he led the team to train in Salt Lake City, USA, which has a similar high altitude, to acclimate to the 1,570-meter elevation of Guadalajara, Mexico. As a result, the Czech team ran out of steam late in the match, while South Korea remained energetic, making their physical advantage a decisive factor in securing the win. Second, his bold and decisive substitution ignited the team's attacking power. This victory made Hong the third person, after Cha Bum-kun and Huh Jung-moo, to achieve the feat of winning a World Cup match both as a player and as a coach with South Korea.