South Korea vs Czech Republic: prediction & betting odds 12 June 2026

Form and Line-up South Korea

South Korea confidently finished top of qualifying, taking 22 points from 10 rounds, but many experts still had serious questions about the team. A run of draws with Oman (1:1), Palestine (1:1) and Jordan (1:1) showed that the defence is not perfect and that the back three are clearly struggling. But let us be honest: in Asian qualifying, national teams are far from facing the strongest opponents, so we want to take a closer look specifically at Korea's friendlies.

The matches against Ivory Coast (0:4) and Austria (0:1) were telling. On the positive side, the team created chances fairly well, averaging 11.5 shots, but, as expected, its defence is an outright disaster. The back three often lose their zones, which the African opponents took advantage of by creating 3.22 xG. Now the coaching staff urgently need to make tactical adjustments.

Key numbers for South Korea:

• They averaged two goals per game during World Cup qualifying.

• They did not lose once in qualifying.

• They reached the last 16 at the previous World Cup.

Probable South Korea line-up (3-4-3)

Seung-gyu Kim - Lee Han-beom, Min-jae Kim, Tae-seok Lee - Young-woo Seol, Seung-ho Paik, In-beom Hwang, Jae-sung Lee - Kang-in Lee, Heung-min Son, Hyeon-gyu Oh.

Form and Line-up Czech Republic

Czech Republic were frankly fortunate with the draw in the qualifying group stage, as Croatia were the only serious opponents, and the team suffered a heavy away defeat to them (1:5). It then became obvious that there were a number of problems in defence. As a result, the federation decided to change the coach. Koubek, who arrived just before the decisive matches, quickly changed the system and, as it turned out, got it absolutely right.

The play-off matches became a real test of the Czech national team's resilience. First there was a penalty shootout against Ireland (3:2), then the same again against Denmark (3:2). The key conclusion is that this team do not lack composure. The national team's understated leader is midfielder Pavel Sulc. He spent his first season in the top-five leagues with Lyon and scored 14 goals in all competitions. Injuries spoiled the end of the campaign, but he is approaching the World Cup in optimal shape.

Key numbers for the Czech Republic:

• They reached the World Cup for the first time in 20 years.

• They averaged 2.25 goals in qualifying.

• They won twice on penalties in the play-offs.

Probable Czech Republic line-up (3-4-3)

Matej Kovar - Stepan Chaloupek, Robin Hranac, Ladislav Krejci - Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Darida, Jaroslav Zeleny - Pavel Sulc, Lukas Provod, Patrik Schick.

Who Will Referee the Match

Mohammed Amin (Egypt)

Matches - 15 (international matches, 2025-2026);

Average yellow cards per match (including second yellows) - 3.8;

Average fouls per match - 24;

Matches with red cards - 3 out of 15;

Matches with penalties - 5 out of 15.