The first day of the 2026 World Cup did not end with the opening game. Also this Thursday (11), at 11pm (Brasília time), South Korea and the Czech Republic face each other at the Akron Stadium, in Zapopan, state of Jalisco (Mexico). The match is valid for Group A, the same as the Mexican hosts and South Africa.  The Asians, who have a fourth place finish from 2002 - when they hosted alongside Japan - as their best record at the World Cup, are competing in the tournament for the 11th time in a row. There were 11 wins, five draws and 40 goals scored in the qualifiers, led by star Son Heung-Min, currently from Los Angeles (United States). Related news: Mexico opens the World Cup by beating South Africa in a duel with three expulsions. Opening of the 2026 World Cup thrills the Azteca Stadium, in Mexico. The 33-year-old striker, who spent a long time at Tottenham (England), is two goals away from becoming the South Korean team's top scorer. He has already found the net 56 times, two less than Cha Bun-Kun, the country's football idol in the 1970s and 1980s. In addition to Son, who has played 144 games for South Korea, coach Hong Myung-Bo has the experience of Lee Jae-Sung, who has been at Mainz (Germany) for five years and is the second in the current squad with the most games representing the country. Another important midfielder for the team is Lee Kang-In, two-time European champion for Paris Saint-Germain (France). On the Czech side, this will be the second World Cup since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992. The predecessor was runner-up in 1934 and 1962, surpassed by Italy and Brazil, respectively. The country returns to the tournament after 20 years wanting, this time, to advance to the stage. In the qualifiers, after an irregular campaign and an unexpected defeat to the Faroe Islands, the Czech Republic had to face two penalty shootouts, against Ireland and Denmark, in the European playoff. Striker Patrick Schick, a standout from Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), scored five goals, being the team's top scorer. Coach Miroslav Koubek, aged 74 years and nine months, took over the team in the play-offs and will surpass Belgian Hugo Broos (seven months younger) - who, earlier, coached South Africa against Mexico - to become the oldest to lead a team in World Cups. Midfielder Tomás Soucek, if he participates in at least three group stage games, will enter the top-5 in matches wearing the country's shirt, with 93 appearances. This will be the four clashes between the teams, the first in a World Cup. In 1998, the friendly held in Seoul, the South Korean capital, ended 2-2. Three years later, the Czech Republic hosted the game in Drnovice and won 5-0. The last duel took place in 2016, again under Czech control, in Prague. This time, the Asian team won 2-1.