Son's Farewell Tour Starts With A Bang
Thirty-four-year-old Son Heung-min may never play another World Cup, and he spent his probable last opening game reminding everyone exactly why Korea still believes in miracles. Czechia fought back to 1-1 and nearly stole it, before Korea broke their hearts in a Guadalajara evening that felt cinematic from the first whistle.
There is something about South Korea at a World Cup that refuses to be ordinary. Maybe it is the ghost of 2002, that delirious summer when they dragged the whole of Asia to the brink of a final and made the world rub its eyes in disbelief. That spirit has never quite left, and when Son Heung-min walked out at Estadio Akron on June 12th, 34 years old and visibly aware this might be his last dance, 50,000 people held their breath for him.
Czechia came in with their own quiet pride — heirs to a Central European tradition that stretches back to Czechoslovakia's runner-up finish at the 1934 World Cup, a lineage that demands respect even if the world sometimes forgets to give it. Patrik Schick, a striker who once scored from the halfway line at Euro 2020, is exactly the kind of player who can turn a group upside down on his own, and for a spell in the second half, when his side levelled at 1-1, it looked like he might do exactly that.
But Korea pressed and pressed, the way Klinsmann's side has been drilled to, and when Lee Kang-in threaded through the chaos to restore the lead, the emotion on Son's face said everything. This 2-1 win is not just three points — it is a statement.
The stakes
Three points on matchday one is a near-luxury in a World Cup group — it means Korea can approach their next fixtures with patience rather than panic. Czechia, meanwhile, must now win their second game or risk a very early exit, which sharpens every remaining decision Jaroslav Šilhavý makes. Group A just became a genuine horse race.
The rivalry angle
South Korea and Czechia have never really been rivals — their footballing worlds barely brush against each other — but the story threading this match was generational. Son's farewell tour met Schick's peak years, and that collision of a legend trying to bow out gloriously versus a striker trying to announce himself on the biggest stage gave the game a tension that a traditional rivalry would have struggled to match.
Players who could decide it
The captain, the icon, the farewell tour — every touch he takes in this tournament carries the weight of a nation's nostalgia and hope.
The 23-year-old PSG midfielder is the future arriving exactly when the present needs him — his creativity in tight spaces was Korea's most dangerous weapon all evening.
The only Czech player capable of changing a game with a single moment of inspiration; his equaliser briefly made Guadalajara believe in a different ending.
Did you know?
- !Son Heung-min is South Korea's all-time leading scorer, and this World Cup is widely expected to be his last — he turned 34 in July 2025.
- !Patrik Schick's goal against Scotland at Euro 2020, struck from inside his own half, remains one of the most audacious strikes in tournament history — Czech fans were praying for another moment of magic here.
- !Estadio Akron in Guadalajara sits at roughly 1,650 metres above sea level, meaning tired legs feel it in the final twenty minutes — and Korea's winner came in the 78th.
Head to head
South Korea and Czechia have met only a handful of times in friendlies across the decades, with neither side building any real psychological edge over the other. If anything, this World Cup opener was the most meaningful meeting they have ever had, which made Korea's 2-1 win feel like the start of a new chapter rather than a continuation of any old story.
Highlights
Video highlights coming soon