South Korea came from behind to defeat Czech Republic 2-1 as substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu scored the winning goal in the 80th minute of their World Cup opener.

Son Heung-min and company had dominated the game against the Czechs, who did not have a shot on target until their captain Ladislav Krejci rose to head home a long throw from Vladimir Coufal for the opening goal in the 59th minute.

Former Tottenham forward Son, captaining his nation, had attempted five of South Korea’s eight efforts in the first half, but his biggest chance was blocked by keeper Matej Kovar.

But Feyenoord defensive midfielder Hwang In-beom inspired South Korea’s fightback when he equalised only eight minutes after the Czech opener.

Found inside the box by the lively Lee Kang-in, Hwang deceived Kovar, who had rushed off his line, with a fake shot before scooping the ball over the Czech goalkeeper and into an unguarded goal to make it 1-1.

South Korea thought they had been undone by another Czech set-piece in the 78th minute as Tomas Soucek nodded home a free-kick from the left, but Hong Myung-bo’s side were handed a reprieve as the goal was ruled out for offside.

And their supporters at Estadio Guadalajara were soon celebrating as their side took the lead, with Besiktas forward Oh tapping home a cross from Hwang to complete the turnaround.

But the famous win was only sealed courtesy of keeper Kim Seung-gyu who produced a brilliant low stop to deny Adam Hlozek’s close-range effort in the 82nd minute and also from Michal Sadilek in the stoppage time.

It is the first time in four editions of the World Cup that South Korea have made a winning start to their campaign.

This is South Korea’s eighth all-time win at the FIFA World Cup and the fourth by a 2-1 scoreline. They conceded the opening goal in all four of those matches.

South Korea have lost only one of their last seven opening matches at the FIFA World Cup dating back to 2002 (W4 D2), a 1-0 defeat to Sweden to in 2018.

Son Heung-Min is the second player to appear in four different FIFA World Cups for South Korea (2014-2026), joining current manager Hong Myung-Bo (1990-2002).

Czech Republic will next face South Africa on Thursday, 18 June (17:00 BST) while South Korea take on World Cup co-hosts Mexico,  on Friday, 19 June (02:00).

[BBC]

US police are investigating a large imprint of the numbers 8-6-4-7 that were apparently drawn in the grass of the National Mall in Washington DC.

“Eighty-six” is a slang term for “get rid of”, and Trump administration officials claim that the numbers are meant to encourage violence against Trump, the 47th president.

US Park Police “responded to a report of vandalism” at around 11:30ET (16:30GMT) on Thursday morning, the agency said in a statement.

“The cause of the discoloration has not yet been determined. Grass samples have been collected for testing. The investigation is ongoing.”

Images of the grass show the numbers 8, 6 and 7, but the number 4 is not clearly visible.

The investigation comes as US prosecutors attempt to jail the former director of the FBI for a social media post in which the numbers were seen written on a beach in sea shells.

James Comey is facing multiple charges related to an alleged threat to kill Trump. He has denied the charges and called the prosecution politically-motivated.

The numbers have been used by opponents of Trump, and have appeared at protests against his administration.

The slogan written in the grass appears somewhat faded, with the number 8 appearing more prominently than the others. It is located close to the World War 2 memorial.

The alleged vandalism comes amid a beautification campaign of US monuments in the city, led by Trump. The campaign includes $13.1m (£9.6m) to repaint the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, as well as a plan to build an arch decorated with golden figures including lions and eagles.

[BBC]