Czech media outlets delivered sharp criticism of their own national team after the Czech Republic lost to South Korea in their opening Group A match at the 2026 World Cup in North America.
After South Korea came from behind to defeat the Czech Republic 2-1 in the Group A opener held at Guadalajara Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico on Friday (Korea time), Czech outlet e-fotbal said the "Czech national team was outplayed by Korea's tactics." It explained that "before the match, many experts warned that the Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in duo had to be contained, but the Czech defense was overwhelmed by the two players."
The outlet further assessed that "the Czech defense had to commit four fouls to stop Son Heung-min, and Lee Kang-in succeeded in many plays that exposed our problems."
Czech public broadcaster's sports channel CT Sport also analyzed that "Son Heung-min created three times as many passing opportunities as our team's striker Patrik Schick, and made several incursions into key areas," adding that "if not for goalkeeper Matej Kovar's saves, we could have conceded even more goals."
It also commented that "the biggest difference between the two teams was creativity," noting that "Korea was excellent at creating chances and penetrating the space behind the defense."
Another outlet, Sport, cited the high-altitude playing environment as one of the causes of the defeat. The outlet reported that "our players tired quickly, to the point where even normally tireless forward Lukas Provod appeared short of breath in the second half."
