Minjae Kim and South Korea win first World Cup match

Minjae Kim got off to a successful start to the World Cup! The FC Bayern centre-back and his South Korean compatriots beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in their first group match on Friday morning. After a goalless first half, Ladislav Krejčí handed the Czechs the lead (59’), but In-Beom Hwang (67’) and Hyeon-Gyu Oh (80’) turned things around. Minjae Kim, who took over the captain’s armband when Heung-min Son was subbed off, played the full 90 minutes. South Korea will be back in action on Friday at 03:00 CEST when they take on co-hosts Mexico in the second group match in Zapopan. Mexico had beaten South Africa 2-0 on Thursday night.