They will meet each other at Akron Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico, once Mexico and South Africa have played in the opener. This game is scheduled for Friday, June 12, at 12:00 AEST.

To celebrate the momentous occasion that is the World Cup, Sportsbet is bringing back its exclusive Super Sub feature!

How does Super Sub work? Well, it’s very simple. Place a bet on select player markets throughout the 2026 Men’s World Cup and if that player is subbed off your bet rolls over to the new player that replaced them.

For example, if you’ve bet on Kylian Mbappe to score during one of France’s matches and during that match he fails to do so and is directly substituted for Jean-Philippe Mateta who ends up scoring instead, your original bet on Mbappe is paid as a winner!

Super Sub is not exclusive to goalscoring markets either, it also applies to anytime assist, player to win one or more fouls, shots on target and more, just make sure to read all the T&Cs before locking in your bet.

Quick Picks

• Our pick: South Korea to win
• Value bet: BTTS not hitting
• Long shot: South Korea 2-0 Correct Score

Betting Preview

South Korea’s manager, Hong Myung-bo, has already voiced his concerns about the heat and challenges of playing in Mexico. He has suggested his team will find it harder the further they go, so making a fast start will be the order of the day for them.

And they looked decent in their run-up to the tournament, with star striker Son Heung-min scoring twice in a 5-0 friendly win in the US (where he plays club soccer for Los Angeles FC) against Trinidad & Tobago, the kind of result worth a look once you have multibet explained.

They also saw on El Salvador 1-0 on June 4, thanks to a Lee Dong-gyeong goal in a match Heung-min was rested until deep into the second half.

Meanwhile, Miroslav Koubek’s Czechia haven’t had the best of qualifications, or preparation for the tournament.

They’ve still got a friendly to play against Guatemala in New Jersey, but they’ve had poor performances in qualifying despite getting the job done. Getting beaten 2-1 by the Faroe Islands in their qualification group in October 2025 certainly wasn’t their finest moment.

They needed a penalty shootout to reach the finals in a play-off against Republic of Ireland, meaning there are a lot of questions around the Europeans, who don’t seem to have planned well for the Mexican conditions.

Betting Markets to Watch

Czechia’s struggles are perhaps why South Korea are considered the slight favourites heading into this opening contest. Furthermore, Czechia have poor form in this competition, having lost three of their last four matches.

There may be some value in the '1st Half Over 0.5 Goals' market, as it has hit in each of Czechia's last eight competition matches.

Czechia has trailed 1-0 at half-time in each of their last two tournament matches, which suggests there is additional value in the ‘South Korea 1-0 - Half-Time Correct Score’ odds.

In addition, the 'Both Teams to Score' market has failed to hit in each of Czechia's last four tournament matches.

Looking further at the goals, Son Heung-min is worth value as an ‘anytime goalscorer’. The LAFC forward will have acclimated to the conditions and will be the main focus for his team. Expect a lot of the play to go through him.

Our Prediction

Find all of our South Korea vs Czechia world cup betting odds here.

We think it’s likely South Korea win, as they appear to have had better preparation for the tournament and have put pressure on themselves to have a fast start.

Our long shot is the ‘South Korea 1-0 - Correct Score’ market. Czechia has lost each of its last two tournament matches by 2-0, but this could be tighter.

South Korea vs Czechia head-to-head record

Korea Republic and Czechia have met 3 times, and the head-to-head is level: each side has won 1, with 1 draw.

The two nations will meet at a World Cup for the first time, with a group fixture planned for June 2026.

Korea Republic come in off the back of their most recent meeting against Czechia, reportedly a win in Prague back in 2016.

South Korea vs Czechia kick-off time (AEST)

Korea Republic vs Czechia kicks off at 12:00pm AEST on Friday 12 June 2026.

The match is played at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, where the local kick-off is 8:00pm on Thursday 11 June 2026.

How to watch South Korea vs Czechia in Australia (SBS)

You can watch Korea Republic vs Czechia live and free in Australia on SBS. SBS has the exclusive rights to World Cup 2026 and is showing all 104 matches free-to-air, with some also on SBS VICELAND, so there is no subscription to worry about.

If you would rather stream, the match is live and free on SBS On Demand, which you can watch on your phone, tablet, computer or smart TV once you sign in to a free SBS account.

Coverage is built around the 12:00pm AEST kick-off on Friday 12 June 2026, so plan your morning accordingly.