South Korea defeated Portugal 2-1 to advance to the round of 16 of the World Cup thanks to a goal from Hwang Heechan in the final seconds. South Korea vs Portugal Football FIFA World Cup 2 Dec 2022
At Qatar’s Education City Stadium, Hwang scored after captain Son Heungmin ran the length of the field while in possession to set up the goal.
South Korea vs Portugal Football FIFA World Cup
It took South Korea eight minutes after the final whistle to learn their fate in Group H since Uruguay’s 2-0 victory against Ghana was insufficient to give Son’s team the advantage on goal differential.
The South Korean players huddled on the centre circle and gathered around a phone showing the frantic last seconds of their opponent’s match before bursting into jubilant celebrations to mark reaching the World Cup’s knockout round for just the third time.
Before this last group game, Portugal had already advanced to the knockout rounds. They made six changes from the lineup that defeated Uruguay 2-0, with Dalot and Horta among those brought in. To have any hope of moving on, the Koreans needed to win.
After the final whistle of South Korea’s 3-2 loss to Ghana, coach. Paulo Bento, a former Portuguese international, was dismissed and forced to watch from the stands.
After barely five minutes, he witnessed his team trail as defender Pepe passed the ball to Manchester United fullback Diogo Dalot down the right side.
Horta scored in his first game at a big tournament after Dalot easily avoided a feeble Korean challenge and drew the ball out from the byline for him. Horta scored in front of 44,000 spectators.
After the early goal, Kim Younggwon gave the. Koreans hope in the 27th minute when. Ronaldo was hit in the back by a corner and the ball fell. Pleasantly for the defender to whisk the equaliser home.
However, Portugal continued to appear dangerous every time they moved against a. Korean defence that was without Kim Minjae from Napoli in the first half. Portugal had more control and passed the ball around more in the second half, but. South Korea and an increasingly important Son posed a threat on the break.
