South Korea vs Portugal – 02/12/2022
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The final round of fixtures in Group H of the 2022 World Cup take place on the 2nd of December, including the meeting between South Korea and Portugal. The game will be held at the Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan and South Korea begin the match in third place on 1 point while Portugal top the group on 6 points.
South Korea come into the game on the back of a disappointing 3-2 defeat against Ghana in their second match of the group. South Korea found themselves 2-0 down after 34 minutes but came out strongly in the second half.
[#생생포토] 대한민국?? 2-3 ??가나
최선을 다한 우리 선수들에게 아낌없는 격려와 박수를 부탁드립니다.✔2022 FIFA 카타르 월드컵 조별리그 3차전
??v??#포르투갈 12.03(토) 00:00 (KST)#대한민국 #축구국가대표팀 더 뜨겁게, ??? ????? pic.twitter.com/KrVzbAsedy— theKFA (@theKFA) November 28, 2022
South Korea halved the deficit in the 58th minute and sent their fans wild as they scored the equaliser just 3 minutes later. The momentum appeared to be with South Korea but Ghana struck with their third goal in the 68th minute and kept South Korea out for the remainder of the match.
Having started with a decent 0-0 draw against Uruguay, the game against Ghana was the one South Korea targeted to get maximum points. They now face an uphill struggle to get out of the group stage.
Trends show South Korea tend to struggle when it comes to winning matches at the World Cup and they have recorded only 1 win from their last 12 fixtures. Recent games in all competitions show they know how to score goals and South Korea have netted at least once in 10 of their last 12 matches, including friendlies.
Portugal have booked their place in the round of 16 thanks to a 2-0 win over Uruguay. The Portuguese were not at their best in the first half but opened the scoring shortly after half time as Bruno Fernandes’ cross went straight into the far corner.
It was Fernandes who won and converted the penalty for Portugal’s second goal, which came at the end of the game.
Having recorded a thrilling 3-2 win over Ghana in their first game of the group, Portugal know they can afford to lose this game and still progress. However, a point will be enough to see them top the group and that is the least they will be aiming for from the match.
Trends show Portugal have won 4 of their last 5 games in all competitions and have scored 2 or more goals in 6 of their last 8 fixtures.
Team news and South Korea have no confirmed injured or suspended players. There are doubts over the fitness of Kim Min-Jae, who could be replaced in defence by Kwon Kyung-Won.
Portugal could be without the injured duo of Nuno Mendes and Otávio. Danilo Pereira is out of the tournament having suffered broken ribs.
Portugal will be tempted to rotate their team for this game but should still have enough to see off the challenge of South Korea. They look enough of a threat to score against the Portuguese but defensively against Ghana, South Korea looked poor and Portugal should come out on top, with both teams scoring.