Hwang Hee-Chan provided late drama for South Korea, as his late goal earned his country a 2-1 win over Portugal – and a place in the World Cup knock out stages.
Paolo Bento’s side did it the hard way as they were forced to come from behind, but in the end the Wolves striker’s goal in second half injury time saw his side beat Uruguay to secure second place in Group H on goals scored.
Fernando Santos made six changes as, with their passage to the round-of-16 already confirmed, he rested some of his senior players, including Bruno Fernandes. They still made an electric start though, netting after just five minutes as Ricardo Horta converted from Diogo Dalot’s low cross.
A superb stop from Diogo Costa, diving full stretch to his right to keep out Cho Gue-Sung’s header, prevented South Korea from equalising, but they got their goal just before the half hour mark as Kim Young-Gwon acrobatically slid home from close range.
Chances were more sparse in the second half, although Costa made one excellent reaction save from a thumping Hwang In-Beom effort. There was the feeling that Bento’s side needed to take the handbrake off though as they searched for the goal they needed to go through.
Time appeared to be running out, as did South Korea’s chances as they struggled to get hold of the ball, but a rapid counter-attack from a Portugal corner led to Son Heung-Min feeding Hwang, who slotted home a dramatic winner, leading to jubilant scenes at the Education City Stadium.
TALKING POINT – STUNNING SOUTH KOREA GAME PLAN
This match was always going to be South Korea’s toughest assignment of the group stages, but after drawing with Uruguay and losing 3-2 to Ghana, they knew they needed to win to have any chance of reaching the round-of-16.
The game plan from Paolo Bento, who had to watch from the stands due to a touchline ban, was perfect, patiently sucking up pressure in the first half before unleashing their attacking potential after the break.
One of the substitutes, Hwang Hee-Chan, finally back from injury, proved to be the hero, and the manager must be praised for the way he managed the game,as he would have been criticised for not being more proactive had it gone wrong.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Vitinha (Portugal). The 22-year old was a joy to watch in the heart of Portugal’s midfield, regularly picking apart a South Korea defence who couldn’t get close to him.
He was continually the architect, creating numerous chances for Cristiano Ronaldo with delightful flicks and passes, with a quick drop of the shoulder constantly creating the extra yard he needed to find the right ball.
Amazingly, the former Wolves loanee, who plays for PSG, was winning just his sixth cap for his country. On this evidence, there will be many more to come.
PLAYER RATINGS
SOUTH KOREA: Kim Seung-Gyu 7; Kim Moon-Hwan 7, Kwon 7, Kim Young-Gwon 8, Kim Jin-Su 7; Lee Kang-In 6, Jung 6, Lee Jae-Sung 6, Hwang 6, Son Heung-Min 7; Cho 6. Subs: Hwang Hee-Chan 7, Hwang Ui-Jo n/a, Son Jun-Ho n/a
Subs: Jo, Song, Cho, Yoon, Kim Tae-Hwan, Kim Min-Jae, Hong, Kwon Chang-Hoon, Son Jun-Ho, Paik, Jeong, Song, Hwang Ui-Jo, Na
PORTUGAL: Costa 7; Dalot 7, Pepe 7, Silva 6, Cancelo 7; Nunes 6, Neves 6, Vitinha 8; Mario 6, Ronaldo 6, Horta 7. Subs: Palhinha 6, Andre Silva 6, Leao 6, Bernardo Silva n/a, Carvalho n/a
Subs: Patricio, Sa, Dias, Guerreiro, Felix, Ramos
KEY MOMENTS
5’ GOAL! SOUTH KOREA 0-1 PORTUGAL (Horta). First chance and first goal! What a start for Portugal! They break down the right through Pepe’s long ball, picking out Dalot, and he slides in a cross to Horta, who clips home on the first touch
17’ GOAL RULED OUT. South Korea have the ball in the back of the net, but it won’t stand. Diogo Costa initially makes a stunning save from Cho Gue-Sung’s header. Kim Jin-Su taps in the rebound, but he was offside
27’ GOAL! SOUTH KOREA 1-1 PORTUGAL (Kim Young-Gwon). They’ve done it! South Korea equalise after Portugal fail to deal with a corner, which falls kindly for Kim Young-Gwon, who acrobatically fires home. We’re all square!
90+1’ GOAL! SOUTH KOREA 2-1 PORTUGAL! (Hwang Hee-Chan). WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT! South Korea counter attack from a Portugal corner. Son Heung-Min times his pass perfectly and Hwang Hee-Chan slots home. Unbelievable! What a moment!
