South Korea edged a tight, end-to-end Group A opener against Czechia, recovering to win 2–1. A useful three points for the Taegeuk Warriors before their date with the hosts.

South Korea thoroughly dominated the underlying numbers — 62% possession, a 15-7 edge in shots and a commanding 2.30-0.82 xG advantage — yet had to come from behind, because Czechia's one moment of quality came from a dead ball: Ladislav Krejci's 59th-minute header off a long throw, almost the entirety of their 0.82 xG arriving in flashes rather than sustained play. The xG gap reflects how one-sided the run of play was, and Korea's eventual 2-1 win (Hwang In-beom's solo equaliser and Oh Hyeon-gyu's 80th-minute winner) brought the scoreline closer to what the chances deserved. Czechia's 16 fouls to Korea's 9 underline a side increasingly chasing the game and disrupting Korea's fluid build-up — Lee Kang-in pulling the strings with a perfect passing record — while keeper Matej Kovar's four saves kept the margin respectable against a much higher expected total.