![Son Heung-min reacts after a shot goes wide during South Korea's 2026 World Cup Group A opener against Czech Republic at Guadalajara Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico, on Thursday. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/12/rcv.YNA.20260612.PYH2026061209510001301_P1.jpg)
South Korea beat Czech Republic 2-1 to open its 2026 North America World Cup campaign with a victory, but captain Son Heung-min had little to celebrate — he received the lowest player rating among all players who featured from a leading British football outlet.
Goal.com published its player ratings for the Group A opener Friday, giving Son a 6 out of 10 — the lowest score on the South Korean side.
The outlet said Son "had a frustrating evening in front of goal," noting that a one-on-one chance against the opposing goalkeeper was stopped and that his shots were either blocked or sailed over the bar. He dropped back to the halfway line to try to create chances for his teammates but could not find the finish himself, it added.
Son started as a forward and played roughly 69 minutes before being substituted off for Oh Hyeon-gyu in the 24th minute of the second half. In the 11th minute of the second half, he received a decisive pass from Lee Jae-sung and found himself in a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, only to be denied by Matej Kovar.
Son came off without a goal and now has three World Cup goals to his name. One more this tournament would take him past Park Ji-sung and Ahn Jung-hwan to become South Korea's all-time leading World Cup scorer outright, with four goals.
![Oh Hyeon-gyu scores the go-ahead goal during South Korea's 2026 World Cup Group A opener against Czech Republic at Guadalajara Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico, on Thursday. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/12/rcv.YNA.20260612.PYH2026061215640001300_P1.jpg)
Oh Hyeon-gyu, who came on to replace Son, more than filled the void — he scored the winning goal just 11 minutes after entering the pitch and earned a rating of 8. The highest score overall went to Hwang In-beom, who earned a 9 after scoring the equalizer and assisting the go-ahead goal.
Goal.com said Hwang "made the difference, giving his country the perfect start at the North America World Cup." Lee Kang-in and goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu also received 8s.
South Korea's next Group A match is against Mexico on June 19 at 10 a.m. at the same venue, followed by a clash with South Africa on June 25 at 10 a.m. at Estadio Monterrey.
dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com
