South Korea 2-1 Portugal: Koreans leave it late to secure knockout football
James Davis reports on the penultimate tie in World Cup Group H after South Korea saw off Portugal 2-1.
South Korea sealed a spot in the World Cup knockout stage after beating Portugal 2-1 in an entertaining Group E tie.
An early goal from Ricardo Horta put Portugal in a strong position, before Kim Young-Gwon pulled one back for the Taegeuk Warriors midway through the first half.
Plenty of chances passed both teams by in a long goalless spell before Hwang Hee-Chan broke the deadlock in second half injury time, serviced ably by Son Heung-Min.
With Uruguay and South Korea tied on four points and zero goal difference, the four goals scored by the Asian nation bettered Uruguay’s two, sending them through to the knockouts.
Horta’s sixth minute strike was the result of some lovely build-up play, with a long ball from Pepe finding Diogo Dalot, who easily cut back to the Braga winger.
It took just over ten minutes for South Korea to put the ball in the back of the net themselves, the rebound from a Diogo Costa great save buried by an offside Kim Jin-Su.
Playing all in red, South Korea netted from an onside position in the 27th minute, Kim Young-Gwon pouncing on a ball that bounced off a hapless Cristiano Ronaldo.
Working to rectify his mistake on the half-hour mark, Ronaldo found himself through on goal, but his effort was well-saved by Korea keeper Kim Seung-Gyu.
The end of the half was punctuated by chances for both sides, Dalot, Son and early scorer Horta all challenging the opposition goaltenders, but the sides went into half time level.
A series of poor efforts at goal served as an opener to the second half, Ronaldo’s sliced effort complemented by Son’s deflected shot after a poorly placed set-up pass.
Cho Gue-Sung also missed a golden opportunity to put his nation in front, not rising quite high enough to meet a well-weighted cross.
Ronaldo, still in search of a record-equalling ninth goal to join Eusebio as Portugal’s leading World Cup goalscorer, was noticeably frustrated to feature in a triple substitution for the Seleção in the 64th minute.
As the sides entered the first of six added minutes, Son broke up the pitch after a Portuguese corner to feed substitute Hwang, the Wolverhampton Wanderers star timing his run perfectly to bury a right-footed effort past the onrushing Costa.
South Korea will face off against the mighty Brazil, barring any major Group G shenanigans this evening, with Portugal likely facing the winner of Switzerland and Serbia’s tie.
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