South Korea could stand in the way of Brazil in the Round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar. This Friday (2), the Asian Tigers beat Portugal by 2 to 1, at Estádio Cidade da Educação, in Doha, guaranteeing the second place in Group H in the knockout stage. South Korea is QUALIFIED for the round of 16 of the World Cup! 🇰🇷👏 pic.twitter.com/ScSrTItbax — FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@fifaworldcup_pt) December 2, 2022 The Europeans, classified in advance, ended the key in the lead, with six points. The South Koreans had the same four points as Uruguay, but were ahead by the number of goals scored (four to two). To celebrate their place in the round of 16, the Asians had to wait for the Uruguayans’ match with Ghana, at the Al Janoub Stadium, in Al Wakrah, to come to an end. The 2-0 South American victory turned out to be insufficient. It is the third time that Korea has reached the second round of a World Cup, in 11 appearances. Interestingly, on the first occasion, when it hosted the tournament, in 2002, the place was also secured with a victory over Portugal (1-0). Current coach of the Asian Tigers, former defensive midfielder Paulo Bento was at that meeting, but defending the Portuguese colors. 이게 🇰🇷대한민국이지❤ pic.twitter.com/TCpUTdsBTt — theKFA (@theKFA) December 2, 2022 In the round of 16, South Korea will face the leader of Group F, which could be Brazil. The duel will take place this Monday (5), at 4 pm (Brasília time), at Stadium 974, in Doha. Portugal’s selection will face the second place in the Brazilian group, which still includes Cameroon, Serbia and Switzerland, all with a chance of qualifying. The match will be on Tuesday (6), at 4 pm, at Estádio de Lusail. The coach of Portugal, Fernando Santos, fulfilled what he said on Thursday (1st) and took advantage of the fact that the selection is guaranteed in the round of 16 to rotate the squad. Without Nuno Mendes, who suffered a thigh injury in the 2-0 victory over Uruguay and is out of the Cup, the coach opted for also full-back Diogo Dalot, placing him on the right and leaving João Cancelo on the left. In the defense, António Silva took the place of the hanged Rúben Dias. From midfield, defensive midfielder Rúben Neves and striker Cristiano Ronaldo were the only starters chosen, with Vitinha, Matheus Nunes, João Mário and Ricardo Horta filling, respectively, for Willian Carvalho, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and João Félix – the last two already with a yellow card. Suspended for being sent off in the 3-2 defeat to Ghana, Paulo Bento made changes in the three sectors of the South Korean team, but kept the team in the 4-3-3. In the centre-back, Kwon Kyung-Won took over from Kim Min-Jae, who injured his ankle against the Black Stars. In midfield, Lee Jae-Sung regained the starting position, replacing Kwon Chang-Hoon. Already in the attack, Lee Kang-In was chosen to act alongside Cho Gue-Sung and the ace Son Heung-Min, instead of Na Sang-Ho. South Korea’s equalizing goal against Portugal! This game is AWESOME! 🔥 — FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@fifaworldcup_pt) December 2, 2022 The slightest interaction between those on the field was not a problem for the Portuguese, who opened the scoring after four minutes with the participation of two of the “reserves”, who knew how to take advantage of the advance South Korean tagging. Launched on the right end by defender Pepe, Dalot crossed and Ricardo Horta sent the first goal into the net. In the 14th minute, Cancelo received it from the left, went to the bottom line and shot low, looking for Ronaldo in the small area, to the defense of goalkeeper Kim Seung-Gyu. Korea responded two minutes later with a goal disallowed by Kim Jin-Su. The wing-back was offside on goalkeeper Diogo Costa’s rebound, after Cho’s header, which completed Son’s cross from the left on the first post. At 26 minutes, another ball was kicked into the area, this time by Kang-In, in a corner from the left. The kick deflected, ironically, behind Ronaldo and left defender Kim Young-Gwon, now in a legal position, to leave everything the same. The South Korean need to seek the turnaround and the tranquility of Portugal due to the early classification left the duel open. In the 34th minute, Dalot demanded good defense from Seung-Gyu, who stretched out in the left corner to defend the lateral’s low shot, from the edge of the area. Seven minutes later, the goalkeeper was lucky enough for Ronaldo to miss the rebound, to the middle of the area, from a shot by Vitinha, from the half moon. At 43 minutes, shirt number 1 saved Ricardo Horta’s finish, in the area, after a cross by Dalot, on the right. TODAY HAS A GOAL FROM HWANG HEE-CHAN! 🇰🇷💪 pic.twitter.com/FN0j7mr4gU — FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@fifaworldcup_pt) December 2, 2022 If before the break the Portuguese presence ahead was a little bigger, the second half was practically all Korea. However, greater precision in the conclusion was lacking. At ten minutes, Son went on the counterattack and didn’t turn the score around because he was stopped, at the last minute, by António Silva. Eleven minutes later, In-Beon received it in the half moon and hit hard, to a good save by Diogo Costa. At 45 minutes, finally, the pressure took effect. Recovered from a muscle injury that kept him out of the first few games, striker Hwang Hee-chan – who had entered the field 25 minutes earlier – received Son’s counterattack and hit Diogo Costa as he left, turning the score around. The South Korean party, however, still depended on the result of Uruguay and Ghana, since the South Americans, who were winning by 2-0, needed only one goal to stay with the vacancy. There were almost ten minutes of drama, until the final whistle sounded in Al Wakrah and exploded the Asian crowd in Doha.
Agência Brasil
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