Korea made a brighter start than it had in recent warm-up matches, but could not turn its early pressure into a goal against a physically strong Czech side at Guadalajara Stadium in Mexico.
Son Heung-min started up front, with Lee Kang-in and Lee Jae-sung playing just behind him.
Hwang In-beom and Paik Seung-ho anchored the midfield, while Lee Tae-seok and Seol Young-woo operated as wing-backs.
Lee Ki-hyuk, Kim Min-jae and Lee Han-beom formed the back three, with Kim Seung-gyu starting in goal.
The Czech Republic lined up with Patrik Schick as its main striker, supported by Pavel Sulc, Lukas Provod, Tomas Soucek and Alexandr Sojka.
Korea carved out the first clear opening in the 12th minute, when Lee Kang-in lifted a pass into the box for Lee Jae-sung’s run.
The ball eventually dropped to Son, whose left-footed effort was blocked by a Czech defender.
From the resulting corner, Lee Han-beom rose well but headed over the bar.
Lee Kang-in then tested goalkeeper Matej Kovar in the 14th minute with a left-footed strike from distance, Korea’s only shot on target of the first half.
The Czech Republic responded almost immediately after Korea lost the ball on the right, but Kim Min-jae muscled his way across to break up the danger before Patrik Schick could get a clean look at goal.
Korea dictated much of the tempo early on, but the Czech Republic began to settle after the hydration break, using its size and set-piece threat to push Korea back.
A Czech set piece caused problems in the 22nd minute, with the ball glancing off Tomas Soucek before drifting wide of the post.
Son had two chances late in the half, sending a right-footed shot over the bar in the 37th minute before cutting inside and curling a left-footed effort just wide three minutes later.
The Korean captain had one more chance in stoppage time after arriving in the box for a cutback, but he failed to make clean contact as the first half ended scoreless.
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