Twin 3-4-2-1s: Son and Schick mirror each other
Two identical shapes in Group A, and the man behind the lone striker settles it.

Kim Do-Hoon and I. Hašek have drawn up the very same picture. A 3-4-2-1 facing a 3-4-2-1, right down to a single forward held up top. South Korea trust Son Heung-min there. Czechia hand that job to Patrik Schick.
Behind them sit the floating pairs that make this system tick. Kang-in Lee and Jae-sung Lee buzz off Son; Pavel Šulc and Lukáš Provod drift in off Schick. Anchoring the back three, meanwhile, is Kim Min-jae — and his side will need every inch of him.
The numbers, though, point in opposite directions. Czechia's recent games have been the more open affairs; South Korea's have run lower-scoring. Dong-gyeong Lee, who struck in the 1-0 win over El Salvador and earned a 7.5, offers another route through.
Bookmakers can't separate them. So whichever set of twin tens wins the duel behind the striker likely tips it.
Written and fact-checked by our AI preview desk from live match data. Refreshed as kickoff nears.


