World Cup 2026: South Korea vs Czechia Prediction

William Hill News provide their best bets and predictions ahead of the World Cup 2026 clash between South Korea and Czechia in the early hours of Friday morning.

The stage is set and Guadalajara is the venue for the Group A curtain raiser between South Korea and Czechia, and this is a tricky contest to call – especially with nothing to go off in the tournament so far.

Hong Myung-bo’s side were the only unbeaten team in the AFC qualifying campaign, recording 11 victories and five draws from 16 games while scoring an impressive 40 goals.

Going forward, they have plenty of quality and South Korea warmed up for the tournament with a 5-0 thrashing of Trinidad & Tobago, which should give backers confidence that the Asian side can get the job done.

South Korea v Czechia Best Bets:

• Under 2.5 goals – 8/13
• 1st Goal to be a Header – 11/2
• Match to end 1-1 – 9/2

Currently 25th in the FIFA world rankings, South Korea also recorded a 1-0 victory over El Salvador in their final World Cup warm-up match and confidence will be high. Admittedly though, this is a different level and football betting odds reflect how tough this contest is to call.

South Korea v Czechia Match Odds:

• South Korea – 13/8
• Draw – 2/1
• Czechia – 7/4

While South Korea are expected to enjoy the lion’s share of possession, Czechia are a huge threat from set plays and over 50% of their goals during the qualifying campaign came from dead-ball situations.

Czechia scored a total of seven goals from corners and punters will be keeping a close eye on any early success they have at set-pieces. If live betting on Czechia, it might be worth seeing just how dominant they are in this particular area of the game.

Czechia have shown plenty of grit and determination in recent months, and I’m expecting the European side to try and keep things tight and make the most of their opportunities at set pieces.

This is a matchup of two contrasting styles and they may end up cancelling each other out. A draw looks the sensible pick here, and it could be a low-scoring contest for any night owls tuning in.

*Odds subject to change – prices accurate at the time of writing*