Another great nation of international football was knocked out at the group stage. Uruguay’s path comes to a halt on Friday despite its 2-0 win over Ghana. Suarez’s team finished in third place, and came out at the last moment in the other match in Group H, with South Korea’s victory (2-1) over Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo had already qualified and finished top of this group H. They will play their round of 16 on December 6 against the second in Group G, where the first place gives them a good chance to avoid Brazil, ahead of the last matches. This group that takes place on Friday evening.
The South Americans believed that they had done the main thing thanks to de Arascaita’s brace (26, 32), but the goal of South Korean Hwang in overtime against the Portuguese, who had already qualified before the match, turned the situation in favor of the Asians. .
loading
Portugal is at the top of their group
For restraint, Portugal’s national team was punished on Friday by South Korea (2-1), which snatched their qualification to the World Cup Round of 16 in extra time. However, Portugal retained its first place in Group H, where Ghana lost at the same time to Uruguay (2-0), in the elimination match.
Fernando Santos’ players had already qualified for the finals before the match, and this was shown at the Education City Stadium in Doha, where they were not forced before being punished by a goal from Hwang Hee-chan at the end of the suspense (90 + 1). After a Portuguese corner kick, Korean star Son Heung-min lunged into the Portuguese cages before deftly chipping away at the Wolverhampton forward, who only had to deflect his shot past Diogo Costa.
Then the “Taegeuk Warriors” gathered in the center of the circle to watch the end of the meeting between Uruguay and Ghana, before the great relief: South Korea passed at Celeste’s expense thanks to a greater number of goals scored in the group stage (four against two).
Patience is rewarded
But beyond this figure, the Koreans were rewarded for their solid play from start to finish against Portugal, in appreciation of their patience, as they knew how to maintain a balance between attack and defense, during a meeting they had to win. They didn’t lose their footing after Ricardo Horta (5th) quickly opened the score after a long opening from Pepe on Diogo Dalot’s right-hand side, and a perfect cross from the latter.
They initially thought Kim Jin-su had equalized after a corner kick, but his goal was disallowed due to a slight offside position (17). Ten minutes later, still from a corner kick, the Taeguk Warriors scored well this time through Kim Young-gwon, thanks to an involuntary pass from Cristiano Ronaldo from behind. It was confirmed that the captain was booed throughout the meeting by the Korean fans, and may still be bitter at not being able to see the superstar step onto the lawn during a friendly match for his then club, Juventus Turin, in 2019.
Despite repeated pleas from the 65,000 spectators at Seoul Stadium, Ronaldo remained on the bench against South Korea’s championship team, infuriating them. In Doha, the star tried for a long time, without success, amidst Seleção’s usual replacements, Joao Mario, Matheus Nunes, Vitina and Ricardo Horta, all of whom were founded by Fernando Santos. In the end was his counterpart on the Korean bench, Paulo Bento, another Portuguese, who played a bad trick for his country.
