He danced among the Czech defenders with incredible ease, earning a score of 9.1 according to Flashscore's new player-rating system! But what exactly lies behind the tournament’s best mark so far?
Lee Kang-In was especially dominant in his playmaker role. He created three big chances, one of which led to the equaliser and thus an assist.
Also worth mentioning are his five passes into the Czech penalty area and an incredible 100% passing accuracy (38/38).
The midfielder of the two-time Champions League winners was simply - just like his club in the last two seasons - flawless. But that was to be expected from the Incheon native.
"The individual quality of several Korean players was highlighted as one of the team’s main weapons even before the match, and this was confirmed on the pitch – mainly thanks to the performances of Hwang In-Beom, Lee Jae-Sung and Lee Kang-In," said Flashscore data analyst Marek Kabát.
The Czech defenders couldn’t keep up with the South Korea star and had to resort to fouling him on four occasions. At other times, that didn’t work either, as Lee pulled off five successful dribbles. For comparison: all the other players in the match managed just six dribbles combined!
Lee also dominated in duels. The South Korean star won 10 out of 14 duels (a 71% success rate), something the Czech centre-backs (Robin Hranac – 29% and Stepan Chaloupek - 25%) could only dream of.
In short, a comprehensive performance that would stand out even against tougher opposition.
Productive In-Beom
The second-highest rating in the match went to Hwang In-Beom, who contributed to South Korea’s three points with a goal and an assist. In addition to his tally, the Feyenoord midfielder, who dictated the tempo of the game, also recorded five successful progressive passes and found a teammate in the attacking third seven times.
"The Koreans absolutely dominated in moving the ball forward and creating chances, which was the main difference in the match," Kabát added.
His superb assist for the winning goal says it all, with an xA (expected assist) value of 0.47. Hwang also showed great finishing, converting his chance with an xG of 0.36 into a shot with an xGOT of 0.91.
The Czech defence simply couldn’t find an answer to the Korean's interplay. "Both goals were preceded by longer spells of possession with several horizontal passes, followed by a longer, direct vertical ball that led to the goal-scoring situation," Kabát concluded his data analysis.
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The 2026 World Cup will be held from June 11th to July 19th in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The tournament will feature 48 national teams and will be played in 16 modern stadiums.
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