World Cup: Five Bundesliga stars start South Korea and Czechia duel
| Christof Koepsel/Getty Images |
South Korea face Czech Republic in the second match from Group A at Guadalajara Stadium. The two teams will clash to join Mexico at the top of the group after the co-hosts dispatched South Africa earlier on Thursday.
There are seven Bundesliga based players in total from the two teams, with five of them in the lineups of today's game. With Son Heung-min (Hamburg and Leverkusen), Paik Seung-ho (Darmstadt), Hwang Hee-chan (RB Leipzig), Matěj Kovář (Leverkusen), Vladimír Darida (Freiburg and Hertha) and David Jurásek (Hoffenheim), the two national teams also have several players with past German football experience.
Miroslav Koubek picked Hoffenheim duo Robin Hranáč and Vladimír Coufal in defense, while Bayer Leverkusen's talisman Patrik Schick will be the leading striker as expected. Adam Hložek, who joined Hoffenheim from Leverkusen in 2024, is on the substitute bench.
As for South Korea, Kim Min-jae and Lee Jae-sung are in the starting lineup, while Borussia Mönchengladbach's Düsseldorf-born midfielder Jens Castrop is on the bench. Kim could leave Bundesliga as Bayern told him to find a new club, but Lee signed a contract extension at Mainz in February.
Confirmed South Korea vs. Czechia Lineups
South Korea: S. G. Kim; Kim Min-jae, H. B. Lee, K. H. Lee; Seol, Hwang, Paik, T.-S. Lee; K. I. Lee, Lee Jae-sung; Son ©
Czechia: Kovář; Hranáč, Chaloupek, Krejčí ©; Zelený, Sojka, Souček, Coufal; Šulc, Provod; Schick
