The Korea men's national soccer team led by Hong Myung-bo unveiled a 3-4-3 setup for its first match at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. Son Heung-min (LAFC) starts up front, with Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) in the second attacking line to rattle the Czech defense.
Korea plays the Czech Republic in the Group A opener of the North and Central America World Cup at 11 a.m. on the 12th (Korea time) at Estadio Guadalajara in Zapopan, Mexico. The starting lineup released about an hour before kickoff included key attacking options Son Heung-min, Lee Jae-sung and Lee Kang-in.
Coach Hong is deploying a 3-4-3 variant built on a back three against the Czech Republic. Son Heung-min will aim at the Czech goal as a lone striker, while Lee Jae-sung and Lee Kang-in handle buildup and pressing from the left and right of the second line. The plan appears to be to combine Son's runs in behind and finishing, Lee Jae-sung's work rate, and Lee Kang-in's press resistance and passing to break down the Czech defense.
Playing in his fourth World Cup, Son Heung-min would record his fourth career World Cup goal if he scores on the day. With three World Cup goals, Son is currently tied with Park Ji-sung and Ahn Jung-hwan for the most World Cup goals by a Korea player. A goal against the Czech Republic would give him sole possession of first place.
In midfield, Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) and Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City) start. Hwang is expected to handle buildup and tempo, while Baek shores up defensive support and balance in the middle. By placing Lee Jae-sung on the second attacking line, Coach Hong chose Baek as Hwang's partner.
The wing backs are Lee Tae-seok (Wien) and Seol Young-woo (Zvezda). In a 3-4-3, wing backs drop into a back five when defending and push up the flanks, cross, and trigger the press when attacking. As the Czech Republic is strong in aerial play backed by height, the wing backs' recovery runs and wide defending are viewed as swing factors that could shape the flow of the match.
The back line consists of Lee Ki-hyeok (Gangwon), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) and Lee Han-beom (Midtjylland). Kim anchors the back three, with Lee Ki-hyeok and Lee Han-beom as the left and right center backs. The goal is guarded by Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo).
The Czech Republic also rolled out its best XI. Coach Miroslav Koubek has Patrik Schick (Leverkusen) up top with Pavel Sulc and Lukas Provod in attack. In midfield, Alexandr Sojka and Tomas Soucek start.
The Czech back line consists of Ladislav Krejci, Robin Hranac and Stefan Halousek. The wing backs are Jaroslav Zeleny and Vladimir Coufal, and the starting goalkeeper is Matej Kovar.
Korea is competing in Group A with the Czech Republic, Mexico and South Africa. As the result of the opener against the Czech Republic could steer the trajectory of the group stage, there is growing interest in how steadily Coach Hong Myung-bo's strategy will operate on the World Cup stage.