Czech Coach Praises Kim Seung-gyu's 'Save Show': "I Don't Know How He Stopped Those Close-Range Shots"

"I don't know how a goalkeeper can stop shots taken from such close range."

Miroslav Koubek, head coach of the Czech Republic, expressed his astonishment at the spectacular saves by Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo) after his team suffered a comeback defeat against Hong Myung-bo's squad in their opening match of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.

The Czech Republic lost 2-1 to South Korea in the Group A opener held at Estadio Akron in Zapopan, Mexico, today (June 12).

Despite taking the lead with a header from Ladislav Krejčí in the 14th minute of the second half, the Czech Republic conceded consecutive goals to Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) in the 22nd minute and Oh Hyeon-gyu (Beşiktaş) in the 35th minute, ultimately missing out on the three points.

While South Korea also missed several decisive scoring opportunities in the first half, the Czech Republic failed to capitalize on a few golden chances in the second half as well.

In particular, two shots from inside the box were thwarted by Kim Seung-gyu's saves, leaving the Czech side frustrated.

Kim Seung-gyu effectively sealed the victory for South Korea by blocking a shot from Michal Sadílek during second-half stoppage time.

In the post-match press conference, Coach Koubek said, "We had scoring opportunities, but I don't know how a goalkeeper can stop shots taken from such close range."

He added, "It is very disappointing. However, we played well, and it was a game we could have won. There were some mistakes."

"We could have played more efficiently," Koubek said. "But the players did well. I will encourage them."

Regarding Son Heung-min (LAFC), who missed several good scoring chances, he praised him, saying, "It was not easy to stop him in many aspects. He is a truly excellent player."

As for Czech striker Patrik Schick, who also struggled, he noted, "The game unfolds differently depending on the opponent. South Korea defended against Patrik very well."

When asked by the Korean press how he evaluated South Korea's three-back defensive tactic, he replied, "I don't think I am the one to evaluate it. Rather than evaluating their overall defense, I tried to utilize our own strategy. There were situations where their defense looked unstable, and we should have taken advantage of those opportunities, but we failed to do so."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.