South Korea vs. Portugal: South Korea beat Portugal in an amazing comeback in their last World Cup group game to move on to the knockout rounds at the expense of Uruguay. The tiebreaker was the number of goals scored, which was the only thing that made a difference.
Kim Young-gwon, a center-back, scored an equaliser, and Hwang Hee-chan, who came on as a substitute, scored the game-winning goal in the last minute. The win made South Koreans cry with happiness.
Before the game ever started, Portugal was already guaranteed a spot in the next round, while South Korea needed to win to have any chance of making it to the round of 16 for the first time since 2010. When Ricardo Horta scored early for Europe, it was the worst start conceivable.
After about 10 minutes, South Korea thought they had tied the game when Son Heung-wide min’s free kick gave Kim Jin-su the chance to score after Diogo Costa made a good reflex save. But the offside flag went up right away.
It was a warning that Portugal didn’t pay attention to. So when the ball came into the box again just before the half hour mark, South Korea were back in it. Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t try to clear the ball when he should have, so Kim Y.G. got it right at his feet and couldn’t miss.
As soon as the score was even again, Kim Seung-gyu made a great save to stop Ronaldo. A flag would have stopped it from counting, but neither side knew that.
Kim S.G. was kept pretty busy until halftime. Before the break, Diogo Dalot, Vitinha, and Horta all made good saves on Kim S.G. Vitinha blocked the shot, and the ball went back to Ronaldo, who tried with every muscle in his neck to get the hard diving header on goal, but couldn’t.
South Korea had a clear game plan. They tried to keep things tight at the back and push forward when they could. However, it wasn’t until after halftime that they got a few more chances to counterattack from open play instead of just from set pieces.
Portugal still had the lion’s share of possession, yet Kim S.G. was the less busy of the two goalkeepers compared with the first half. Hwang In-beom shot hard in the middle of the second half, and Diogo Costa had to be on his toes to stop it.
Both teams’ substitutions broke up the flow of the game, and it looked like it would end in a tie, which wasn’t good enough for South Korea. But as time ran out and Portugal sent a corner kick into the box, Son H.M. got the ball for the perfect counterattack.
The Tottenham player moved the ball forward while avoiding pressure, then passed it to Hwang H.C., who kept his cool and shot the ball low into the goal.
Player ratings for South Korea (4-2-3-1)
GK: Kim Seung-gyu – 8/10 – Made a lot of saves, especially in the first half, that were important to the end result.
RB: Kim Moon-hwan – 7/10 – Overall, they did a good job of defending on the left side and made it hard for Portugal to score on that side.
CB: Kwon Kyung-won – 7/10 – Kim Min-spot jae’s was taken by this player, and he did a great job.
CB: Kim Young-gwon (7/10): He scored the goal that tied the game for South Korea and was a clear threat from set pieces. The defence was also strong.
LB: Kim Jin-su – 6/10 – Moved forward to send crosses into the box that made things hard for Portugal. He thought he had scored, but he was out of bounds.
CM: Hwang In-beom – 6/10 – In the second half, he saved the game with a strong shot.
CM: Jung Woo-young – 7/10 – Put in a big shift to keep Portugal at bay.
RM: Lee Kang-in – 7/10 – His corner kick in the first half gave Portugal enough trouble for them to score the equaliser. Fill the box with other crosses.
AM: Lee Jae-sung – 6/10 – Had to work very hard to get out of it.
Son Heung-min (c): 8/10. His team’s main source of creativity, he drifts into the middle during open play and makes good passes from the sides. After the break, he moved to the right side and helped set up the winner with a perfect pass.
ST: Cho Gue-sung, 6/10. He had one shot that needed to be saved, but he didn’t see a lot of the ball because of how his team had to set up. The first place to press.
Player rankings for Portugal (4-2-3-1)
GK: Diogo Costa got a 6/10 because he made a few saves but still let in two goals.
RB: Diogo Dalot – 8/10 – Got things done and gave people a lot of room to be creative. Helped the breakthrough goal by being quick on his feet and having good eyesight.
CB: Pepe, 6/10. He scored the first goal with a long pass down the right side that was just right.
Antonio Silva got a 6/10 on the CB because he did most of what was asked of him.
LB: Joao Cancelo – 6/10 – Sometimes played very high and made Kim make a good save in the first half. He was much more like himself than in the other games.
CM: Ruben Neves, 6/10. He sprayed passes all over the midfield. He was taken off pretty early so he could get some rest.
CM: Vitinha (7/10): A couple of long shots had to be saved, but he is probably Portugal’s best central player.
RM: Ricardo Horta, 7/10: He scored in the fifth minute, which was a great way to start his first major tournament. He wasn’t afraid to try his luck.
AM: Matheus Nunes got a 6/10. He passed well and hit the target with one long-range shot, but he didn’t do enough to really open up South Korea.
LM: Joao Mario – 5/10 – Almost got a pass, but it wasn’t very creative.
ST: Cristiano Ronaldo (c) – 4/10 – It was clear that he really wanted to score for his own goals. South Korea tied the game because he turned his back on a cross into the box.
Fernando Santos, the team’s manager, got a score of 6/10. He used the chance to rest some of his players, since their spot in the last 16 was already set. Maybe they shouldn’t have put Ronaldo back in the game.
Kim Seung-gyu was the best player of the game (South Korea)
