South Korea advances to the round of 16 after a last-second victory over Portugal.
South Korea defeated Portugal with a spectacular injury-time goal to earn their unlikely advancement to the knockout stages.
After Kim Young-gwon had tied the score after Ricardo Horta’s opening goal, it appeared as though South Korea would not get the goal they needed to advance to the round of 16, but Hwang Hee-chan scored in the first minute of stoppage time to give his team the victory.
Despite defeating Ghana 2-0 in the second Group H match and seeming like they would advance for much of the evening, Uruguay were eliminated from the group stages as a result of the victory.
In place of suspended manager Paulo Bento, South Korea assistant coach Sergio Costa said, “We’re very thrilled, we deserved it for everything we accomplished in the three games.” We dedicate this triumph to all of the South Koreans who have given us so much support. After a brief period of celebration and rest, we will face our most likely rival tonight. Then, as with all games, we’ll prepare it by knowing our strengths and limitations, adjusting for personal traits, and creating a game plan.”
Horta scored Portugal’s opening goal in the fifth minute after Diogo Dalot had worked hard down the right side. This was Horta’s first goal in a major tournament.
In the 17th minute, South Korea had the ball in the net, but Kim Jin-close-range su’s strike following a superb Diogo Costa save was disallowed due to offside.
A corner that deflected off Cristiano Ronaldo gave the underdogs their equaliser in the 27th minute, though, as Kim guided a loose ball past Costa.
And they scored the winning goal when Hwang skillfully converted Son Heung-spectacular min’s counterattack from a Portugal corner.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos stated, “Things didn’t go well and the responsibility is certainly mine.”
“The team experienced a lot of ups and downs in the second half. We prevented their counterattack in the first half, but in the second, the ball moved more slowly ” The players are fully aware that it cannot happen; they have been adequately warned about this. It had already happened to Serbia [Portugal lost to them in stoppage time during World Cup qualifying, causing them to lose and move on to the play-offs] and they know perfectly well that it can’t happen again. It is not possible.”
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