Key events<\/p>\n
81 mins: Almost an immediate equaliser! Another brilliant long throw from the right, flicked on in the melee, and Hlozek has time and space at the far post but his effort is saved brilliantly on the line by the scrambling Kim Seung-gyu.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n 80 mins: Korea work the ball down the right channel, Hwang does well to get to it and hook over a perfect low cross into the corridor of uncertainty where the substitute Oh steams onto it and forces it home on the slide from point blank range.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>GOAL! South Korea 2-1 Czechia (Oh, 80)<\/p>\n From a goal down to a goal ahead!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 78 mins: South Korea<\/a> go down the other end and threaten through Lee Kang-in but they can\u2019t find the final ball.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 76 mins: GOAL! Set-piece magic from Czechia<\/a> again! Beautiful delivery from the left and Soucek is first to it to thunder another unstoppable header\u2026<\/p>\n Hang on. The flag is up for offside! Superb decision in real time from the assistant. Soucek had just set off a fraction too soon and his white shoulder was visibly in front of the red defensive line. Credit also to the Korean defensive for such a brave high defensive line. They got it right by a matter of inches.<\/p>\n Tomas Soucek is just offside. Just. Photograph: Daniel Becerril\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.40 EDT<\/p>\n 75 mins: Hlozek goes down on the corner of the box under pressure from Lee Han-beom. Good opportunity here for Czechia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 73 mins: Superb skill from Lee Kang-in to spin away from Krej\u010d\u00ed and win a free-kick on halfway. You\u2019ve seen yellow cards given for less but I reckon the referee acknowledged the defender could do little do avoid giving away a foul after such a brilliant turn.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 72 mins: What will the ambition of the two sides be now? There\u2019ll be plenty of tired bodies playing at altitude in warm conditions. Errors must be minimised.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 69 mins: The hydration advert break comes at a good time for me, as after that goal South Korea<\/a> made a double change with Son Heung-min making way for Oh Hyeon-gyu. Eom Ji-sung is also on the field for Lee Tae-seok.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.31 EDT<\/p>\n 67 mins: Back to the midfield pass-and-move for Korea. Hwang In-beom is at the heart of it, and just like his earlier opportunity on the right he ghosts into space in the left channel, picked out by a sumptuous through-ball. He still has plenty to do though but as he drifts into the box he shapes to shoot on his left, drags the ball back, bounces three Czechs to the deck and clips a right-footed effort into the far corner with a shot so gentle it seems to move in slow motion until it dribbles over the line. Excellent finish and Korea are deservedly back in this.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>GOAL! South Korea 1-1 Czechia (Hwang In-beom, 67)<\/p>\n The equaliser didn\u2019t take long, and it is richly deserved.<\/p>\n That\u2019s brilliant from Hwang In-beom. South Korea are back on on level terms. Photograph: Lars Baron\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.32 EDT<\/p>\n 64 mins: A few passages of broken play following the goal and the substitutions, which suits Czechia<\/a>, who will not be happy to defend deep and keep Korea at arm\u2019s length.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 62 mins: And now Czechia<\/a> replace their entire forward line in a triple substitution. On come Adam Hlo\u017eek, Tom\u00e1\u0161 Chor\u00fd, and Michal Sad\u00edlek.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.24 EDT<\/p>\n 61 mins: Korea make an immediate change with Hwang Hee-chan replacing Lee Jae-sung.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 60 mins: Football eh? Korea have dominated possession and shown the more technically, but it\u2019s Czechia<\/a> who have taken their opportunity. That was a brilliant set-piece. Credit where it\u2019s due.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 59 mins: Of course it\u2019s a header from a set-piece, and this is as pure as they come. An absolute rocket of a long throw from the edge of the box on the right, fizzing over the Korean defender at the near post and onto the forehead of the onrushing Ladislav Krej\u010d\u00ed who powers home from six yards out. Brutal and effective.<\/p>\n Ladislav Krej\u010d\u00ed profile<\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.25 EDT<\/p>\n GOAL! South Korea 0-1 Czechia (Krej\u010d\u00ed, 59)<\/p>\n Against the run of play, Czechia<\/a> are ahead!<\/p>\n Ladislav Krej\u010d\u00ed heads Czechia in front! Photograph: Michael Regan\/FIFA\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.21 EDT<\/p>\n 57 mins: If Korea don\u2019t find a goal here they will feel like this is three points that got away against a side there for the taking.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 55 mins: Kovar denies Son again! Textbook Korean pass and move through midfield from Hwang In-beom to Lee Jae-sung who eases the ball through to Son but as he shapes to shoot on the edge of the six-yard box Kovar is out quickly to smother the effort at source a la starfish Peter Schmeichel. The corner is flicked away and Korea recycle from halfway.<\/p>\n Son Heung-min misses yet another chance for Korea! Photograph: Daniel Becerril\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.19 EDT<\/p>\n 54 mins: Korea are now dominating possession, keeping the ball away from the increasingly conservative Czechs.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 53 mins: Schick is starting to get frustrated with how little change he\u2019s getting from Kim and the poor service he\u2019s receiving from his colleagues. It\u2019s been a long lonely night for the Bayer Leverkusen striker so far.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 51 mins: Korea have resumed where they left off before the break, asserting themselves in defence, working the ball neatly in midfield, and using Son\u2019s ability to turn in the final third and drive towards goal.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 49 mins: Kovar double save! Czechia<\/a> drop far too deep and put no pressure on the Korean midfield as they pick their way slowly through the lines until Hwang In-beom can ghost in behind and shoot across goal from the edge of the box. His drive is close enough for Kovar to parry \u2013 he should claim it or push it away from danger \u2013 but instead he just blocks it into the path of Lee Jae-sung but his slide is repelled by the recovering keeper.<\/p>\n Lee Jae-sung goes close for Korea! Photograph: Daniel Becerril\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.13 EDT<\/p>\n 48 mins: Czechia<\/a> earn a corner on the left. Coufal delivers an inswinger dangerously, dipping just past the near post, but with the ball bouncing it\u2019s a Korean boot first to it to hack clear.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 47 mins: Shick and Kim have a right old tussle on halfway in an 80s throwback. Again it\u2019s a demonstration of Korea\u2019s fortitude.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 46 mins: We\u2019re back under way in Guadalajara. No changes from either side at the break. Even more obvious empty seats in the posh sections.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ok, nearly time for the second half. Just time to squeeze in this column from Pablo Iglesias Maurer who was at the Azteca for the opening match.<\/p>\n double quotation markThey broke into song at the final whistle, serenading the team, and each other, with a deafening rendition of Cielito Lindo. It was a beautiful scene. By the time fans started spilling out of the Azteca\u2019s giant portals and into the surrounding streets, much of the strife between protesters and police had died down. It will surely return soon: Mexico\u2019s social and economic problems will not be solved by football. To those in the Azteca on Thursday, El Tri did at least provide a respite.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n OPTIMISM ALERT. Here\u2019s Jim Denvir:<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much to hate about this World Cup<\/a>. It\u2019s the seventh World Cup I can remember and I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever been less excited about it starting. I live in the US, really have no interest in trying to go to any games given the insane price gouging and the disorganization around the stadiums and transport.<\/p>\n But I switched this game on and my first thought was \u201cI really want to go and see a match in this stadium sometime in my life\u201d. I started with no real preference as to who wins but found myself supporting Korea, just because I prefer their style of football. So I have to ask. Is football going to win out despite everything? Is the love of the game going to be enough to overcome all the negatives? For the first time, I actually believe that\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n As I said off the top, I think this is the most interesting stadium in the tournament and I would gladly shell out a few bucks to watch Chivas de Guadalajara create an atmosphere worth of the volcanic design.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Plenty of correspondence on the subject of hydration breaks, as you might expect.<\/p>\n \u201cAdvertisers are NEVER going to give that time back. Football is now a 4 quarter affair. Halftimes will be headed to 20 minutes soon after,\u201d predicts Erik Liekoski.<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t so much a football match as it is a corporate event,\u201d bemoans Doug Green.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m around long enough to remember concerns in the lead-up to USA\u201994 that US TV companies would dictate that the games be split into 4 quarters to accommodate lucrative ad-breaks,\u201d Paul Keane offers. \u201cShowing remarkably uncommon backbone, FIFA said the games would be standard regulation halves of 45-minutes (yes, I\u2019ve used the words \u201cFIFA\u201d and \u201cbackbone\u201d in the one sentence). Isn\u2019t it refreshing that FIFA is now led by a visionary humanitarian that dictates a 3-minute break for the players to take a 10-second swig of water, purely for their own welfare?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTelemundo didn\u2019t run commercials during the hydration break,\u201d Michael Jones informs me. \u201cThe Guadalajara crowd charmingly sang \u201cCelito Lindo\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n I realise I have just presaged the closing ceremony. Share<\/a><\/p>\n Dylan Riley informs me there are plenty of Korean fans at the live events at Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul. It would be nice if organisers had found room for more of them at the actual stadium.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhat a lovely looking hedge that is around the field,\u201d remarks Sean Boiling. \u201cI first noticed it behind the goals – a better look than that car park at Stamford Bridge back in the day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Cars, as the video explains.Share<\/a><\/p>\n South Korea are clearly the better of the two sides but they have nothing to show for it at the break. As the half wore on they increasingly found joy in transition as well as working the ball through Czechia\u2019s midfield via Hwang In-beom and Paik Seung-ho to the feet of Son Heung-min.<\/p>\n Czechia have come to assert themselves physically but they are getting no change from a resolute Korean defence.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Half-time: South Korea 0-0 Czechia<\/p>\n Not the greatest half of football we will experience this World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n