South Korea beats Portugal and advances to World Cup 2022 Round of 16
South Korea scored a 91st-minute winner against Portugal thanks to Hwang Hee-chan to secure a place in the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup with a 2-1 victory over the European country.
Portugal topped Group H despite the defeat and Fernando Santos’ side are set to take on Group G runners-up, which could be Brazil, Switzerland, Cameroon or Serbia, in Tuesday night’s round of 16.
South Korea fell and were eliminated in the closing stages of the competition, with Hee-chan sending on Diogo Costa to put his team ahead of second-placed Uruguay in the goals scored section.
Santos came on knowing he needed a point to secure the group lead and Ricardo Horta gave the Europeans the lead after five minutes.
Kim Young-gwon equalized in the 27th minute before South Korea, who had coach Paulo Bento in the stands in their last match against Ghana, won in second half injury time but then had to wait for the match against Uruguay before its development was confirmed.
Bento’s side will now face the winners of Group G, which could also be Brazil, Switzerland, Cameroon or Serbia, in the next round on Monday.
Portugal are now aiming to progress beyond the last 16 for the first time since 2006, when they finished fourth, but the defeat is a setback despite topping their group.
Five minutes into the game, the selection opened the scoring when Horta, after an excellent run and a cross from Diogo Dalot, struck the goal given to the starting lineup with an intelligent finish while Santos reshuffled the pitch.
South Korea had the ball in the Portuguese net through Kim Jin-su in the 17th minute but were ruled offside and the European country survived some defensive errors.
However, Bento’s side equalized in the 27th minute when the ball fell softly to Young-gwon in the Portuguese box and he fired a shot past Costa from close range.
Dalot made a skillful save against the South Korean goalkeeper in the 34th minute before Costa Son Heung-min had to block a shot from across the pitch.
Cristiano Ronaldo had a chance to put Portugal back into the lead late in the first half when Vitinha’s shot was headed into the box by Kim Seung-gyu, but the seventh went wide.
The South Korean goalkeeper was again called upon to stop Horta’s shot and both teams went on the break from all angles.
Portugal coach Santos made three 65th-minute substitutions, Ronaldo was among the absent and Costa then made two skilful saves, first denying Son before blocking a powerful shot from Hwang In-beom.
Rafael Leão shot from the post with 20 minutes left before João Cancelo took a wide deflection late on, but ROK prevailed in the dying moments as Son slid a pass to Hee-chan, who finished into the net to create amazing scenes .
South Korea then had to wait for the final whistle in the match between Uruguay and Ghana, won by the South American national team 2-0 but eliminated by goals scored.
Lineups:
Korea Rep. Replacements: 4 Kim Min-Jae, 22 Kwon Chang-Hoon, 2 Yoon Jong-Gyu, 13 Son Jun-Ho, 14 Hong Chul, 25 Jeong Woo-Yeong, 16 Hwang Ui-Jo, 21 Jo Hyeon-Woo, 12 Song Bum-Keun, 8 Paik Seung-Ho, 11 Hwang Hee-Chan, 26 Song Min-Kyu, 23 Kim Tae-Hwan, 24 Cho Yu-Min, 17 Na Sang-Ho.
Portugal Replacements: 26 Gonçalo Ramos, 9 André Silva, 11 João Félix, 4 Rúben Dias, 12 José Sá, 8 Bruno Fernandes, 1 Rui Patrício, 14 William Carvalho, 5 Raphaël Guerreiro, 10 Bernardo Silva, 6 João Palhinha, 15 Rafael Leão.
Scorers:
Korea Republic
27′ Hwang Hee-chan
90′ Kim Young-gwon
5′ Horta
Yellow Cards:
