HONG HAILS SOUTH KOREA SPIRIT AFTER COMEBACK WIN OVER CZECH REPUBLIC.

South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo praised his players for following his instructions
perfectly after they came from behind to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in their
opening World Cup match on Thursday.

South Korea fell behind to a second-half goal from Ladislav Krejčí but responded
through strikes from Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu to claim all three points in
Guadalajara.

“Before the match I gave two messages: not give up until the end and unite as one,”
Hong said. “Whether on the pitch or not, we need to play as one team.”

The victory came despite a difficult outing for captain Son Heung-min, who missed
several chances before being replaced by eventual match-winner Oh.

However, Hong backed his skipper, saying: “Son is our best player and is also a very
stable captain. We believe that Son did his best.”

The South Korea coach admitted his side must improve their finishing but was
delighted with the character shown to overturn the deficit.

The result leaves South Korea level on points with Mexico at the top of Group A
ahead of a crucial meeting between the two nations on June 18.