South Korea qualify after miraculous win over qualified Portugal

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South Korea qualify after miraculous win over qualified Portugal
Updated
Kim Young-Gwon slides in South Korea's leveller
Kim Young-Gwon slides in South Korea's levellerAFP, StatsPerform
South Korea qualified for the last 16 of the World Cup as they beat Portugal 2-1, which combined with the result in the other game sending them through. After Ricardo Horta's opener, the South Koreans levelled through Kim Young-Gwon before a 91st minute winner from Hwang Hee-Chan gave them a precious three points.

Follow all the action from the group's other match here.

Full Time: South Korea 2 Portugal 1

18:07 CET: So many late twists and turns in this match and across the other game. If you've missed any of it, catch our full report, written by Max Davis, and check out all the match stats from Opta by StatsPerform.

Final match stats
Final match statsOpta by StatsPerform

18:04 CET: It's all over between Uruguay and Ghana. No more goals in the final eight minutes and South Korea have qualified for the last 16!

A game where a well thought-out gameplan was enough for South Korea to pull off a terrific comeback. After Portugal had scored in the fifth minute thanks to great work from Joao Cancelo and a nice finish from Horta, it looked like it would be a simple game for the Europeans.

However, South Korea were compact and disciplined and got their reward on the half-hour mark with a sliding finish from Young-Gwon. Throughout the second half, Portugal rarely played to a high tempo and it allowed South Korea the opportunity to hold on and snatch the goal four minutes from time to see them through to the knockout round as the result in the other game fell perfectly their way.

17:57 CET: Instead of wrapping up this game, we will wait for the end of Ghana v Uruguay, which still has a few minutes of injury time left to play. South Korea will be waiting nervously for the outcome of this one where goals from both sides can still change the fate of Group H.

Second Half

94': As it stands South Korea are going through on GOALS SCORED over Uruguay! Late late drama, but if Uruguay can score late on, they can still qualify.

91': YES THEY CAN! IT'S HWANG HEE-CHAN!

Off the bench, the Wolves striker breaks through as Son Heung-Min picks the right pass and Hwang can't miss. Pandemonium in th stadium!

90': We will have six minutes of added time. Can South Korea find that one opportunity?

90': For much of the game, Son Heung-Min has seemed like the most likely to grab a goal for South Korea. He speeds through on goal, but is stopped by William Carvalho. Maybe Son is putting too much pressure on himself to score.

85': Portugal have no need to push forward and South Korea seem to worried about conceding, meaning this game has lacked urgency for a lot of the second half. It certainly doesn't feel like South Korea have just minutes to save their tournament.

82': A fourth and fifth change for Portugal as Bernardo Silva comes on for Vitinha and William Carvalho is on for Joao Mario

80': And that will be that for Young-Gwon, he is off for Son Jun-Ho. Hwang Ui-Jo has also come on for South Korea for Lee Kang-In.

79': Goalscorer Kim Young-Gwon is down inside his own box, South Korea's centre halves are dropping like flies.

77': Diogo Dalot has been Portugal's best player and he does well to manufacture a cross, however there is no-one there to turn it in. 

75': Just one shot from South Korea can make all the difference. They have a free kick from distance, but the effort is way wide. Just 15 minutes to go and as it stands, Portugal will top the group and South Korea will be going home.

71': Son tries a volley towards goal, but Cancelo gets in the way. South Korea are claiming a penalty, but he the referee waves it away.

66': Another shot for Son, he is on target with it, but can't beat Diogo Costa. Hwang Im-Beong tries to go one better and laucnhes a fierce strike at goal, but again Costa is right behind it.

64': Changes for both sides in the offing. Andre Silva replaces Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Leao for Ruben Neves and Joao Palhinha comes on for Matheus Nunes. For South Korea, they bring on Hwang Hee-Chan in place of Lee Jae-Sung.

62': Vitinha tries to find Ronaldo in the first meangful attack for the Portuguese in some time. However, both defences are on top at the moment, dealing with each threat thrown their way.

59': South Korea have looked potent from set plays in this game and they have a couple more that Portugal do well to clear. You feel they need to make chances from those distances if they are to get the goal they need to qualify.

56': Another rifled effort from Son Heung-Min, this one is blocked and away to safety. South Korea starting to look a bit more dangerous as the second half goes on.

54': Lee Jae-Sung is down after making a challenge on Joao Cancelo, receving treatment. Could be a sore one.

53': So far so good for Portugal, who are bossing posession throughout this half. Ronaldo scuffs a shot only for the flag to go up.

50': Pepe nutmegs a South Korean player, which gets a cheer from the fans, before Cancelo delivers up a nice cross, however South Korea can get that away.

47: Son Heung-Min has switched flanks at the start of the second half as both sides remain unchanged from the first half. Ronaldo is flagged for offside after a ball from Pepe.

46': Back under way.

Half Time

17:00 CET: Let's check in with Pat Dempsey, who is watching Ghana v Uruguay:

After a pretty cagey opening, Ghana were gifted a chance to take the lead with a penalty after 20 minutes. Unfortunately for them, Jordan Ayew couldn't convert it. That woke the Uruguayans up it seemed and, in particular, Giorgian De Arrascaeta. There was a lot of pressure in the local media to get him in the starting XI and he's delivered by scoring Uruguay's only two goals at the World Cup so far! Luiz Suarez has had a hand in both, too - pun intended. Can Ghana get back into this one and keep their tournament alive?

16:51 CET: Here are the match statistics at the half, with most of the stats in favour of Portugal - still a long way to go though.

First half statistics
First half statisticsOpta by StatsPerform

16:47 CET: That's the end of the first half and South Korea will be the happier of the two teams at the break. They have rode their luck since equalising through Kim Young-Gwon in the 27th minute and their goalkeeper has been called into action three times to keep the scores level. Portugal, who took the lead through Ricardo Horta early on, are pushing for another goal, but South Korea, who have to win this to have any chance of qualifying, have it all to play for in the second half.

First Half

45': Two minutes to be added on at the end of the first half. It's been all Portugal for the past five minutes and the goalscorer Horta has another chance, but the shot is weak and easily collected.

42': Two quickfire chances for Portugal, but they can't make them count. First, Vitinha tries his luck from range but it's a good save. However, the ball falls straight into the path of Ronaldo and he reacts quickest, but the diving header is wide of the mark. 

40': It's time for the other number seven on the pitch to get in on the action. Son Heung-Min gets a vicious shot away but Diogo Costa is level to it. 

38': A couple of half chances for Cristiano Ronaldo to get on the scoresheet, but he sess one effort well blocked before just missing out on a pass inside the box.

36': Soon after Vitinha has a shot from range to see it saved. Then Lee Kang-In gets the first booking of the game for a trip on Vitinha.

35': Diogo Dalot - close! He has been a thorn in the side of South Korea so far and gets away down the right again. This time he gets a great shot away only for it to be pushed away for a corner. 

Uruguay double their lead and it's that man again Giorgian de Arrascaeta. A lovely volley that gives Ghana a mountain to climb.

31': Ronaldo looks to have a great chance to score, but the keeper does very well to make a save before the flag goes up.

31': As it stands Portugal and Uruguay will be going through to the knockouts, but there is still plenty of football left to play in Group H.

27:' SOUTH KOREA HAVE THAT EQUALISER. IT'S KIM YOUNG-GWON!

They had already been warned from a corner, and Portugal did not heed it. The ball breaks to a free Kim Young-Gwon and he has the easiest finish to pull his side level. Miracles do happen.

In Group H's other game, we have two bits of high drama. Ghana have had a penalty saved from Andre Ayew, before Mohammed Salisu cleared a goal-bound effort from Darwin Nunez off the line. Then, moments later, Uruguay have the lead!

24': A lovely ball from Matheus Nunes nearly finds the dangerous Ronaldo, but South Korea deal with it and get the ball clear.

22': Another attack for Son, he is finding some space on the left-hand side. He does need some support though if he can make an impact.

18': Son Heung-Min, you feel, has to be the match winner today for South Korea. He has a shot that goes is off target and goes out for a goal kick.

16': SOUTH KOREA HAVE AN EQUALISER? NO, OFFSIDE.

From a short corner, South Korea manage to work a save from Diogo Costa - his save goes to the feet of Kim Jin-Su, but he is well offside and it's an easy decision for the assistant referee.

15': Joao Cancelo and Diogo Dalot have already shown they are a threat from the full back areas, and it's the Manchester City man who does very well to get a shot away, but it is saved by Kim in the South Korea goal.

12': Portugal able to look comfortable in defence as South Korea probe away. There is already a sense of frustration in their ranks, but they have fought back already in this tournament. They need to do it again tonight.

8': A miserable start for South Korea, who have their manager in the stands tonight rather than on the touchline. They do get the ball forward to Son, but he is unable to control it. They then get a cross in moments later, but it's harmless and Portugal are back in possession.

6': GOAL FOR PORTUGAL! HORTA ON THE SCORESHEET.

A break down the right for Portugal through Diogo Dalot sees them get to the byline and the ball is pulled back to Ricardo Horta, who makes no mistake. The perfect start for Portugal.

3': Joao Cancelo is one of those who remains in the starting line-up and he sends in a testing cross but it is saved.

2': An early spell of possession for South Korea, who know goals are a must if they are to have any chance of going through from Group H. Remember Portugal have rotated heavily with six changes to the side who beat Uruguay. 

1': We've had the anthems, we've had the pre-match formalities, let's get the final day of group games under way. These sides have met just once before - at the World Cup in 2002 - and it was South Korea who won to go through from the group. Will history repeat itself tonight?

Pre-match

15:52 CET: Just a few minutes until kick-off, a light show going on in the stadium. Will we have some fireworks on the pitch?

Here is how Group H looks before kick-off. Who will be joining Portugal in the next round?

Group H standings
Group H standingsFlashscore

Team News

Captain Cristiano Ronaldo will lead Portugal's attack against South Korea at the World Cup on Friday despite having to train separately from the rest of the team this week but Fernando Santos made six changes to the side that beat Uruguay on Monday.

Portugal, needing only a draw to be sure of top spot in Group H and mindful of the risk of yellow-card suspensions in the next round, have brought Diogo Dalot and Antonio Silva into the defence.

Matheus Nunes, Vitinha and Joao Mario come into the midfield in place of Bernardo Silva, William Carvalho and Bruno Fernandes - who scored twice in the 2-0 win over Uruguay - while Ricardo Horta replaces Joao Felix up front.

South Korea's Portuguese coach Paulo Bento left out central defender Kim Min-jae, who was an injury doubt, and replaced him with Kwon Kyung-won, while Lee Jae-sung and Lee Kang-in were drafted into midfield.

The Koreans, with one point so far, must beat Portugal and hope the result of Ghana's match with Uruguay goes their way in order to reach the last 16.

South Korea: Kim Seung-gyu, Kim Moon-hwan, Kwon Kyung-won, Kim Young-gwon, Kim Jin-su, Lee Jae-sung, Lee Kang-in, Jeong Woo-yeong, Hwang In-beom, Son Heung-min, Cho Gue-sung.

Portugal: Diogo Costa, Diogo Dalot, Pepe, Antonio Silva, Joao Cancelo, Matheus Nunes, Ruben Neves, Vitinha, Joao Mario, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Horta

Introduction

All the pressure will be on South Korea this afternoon as they try and make it into the World Cup knockout stages for the first time since 2010. They know three points against Portugal is a must if they are to achieve that feat, but they come up against a side with one of only two perfect records in the tournament. 

Portugal have not been at their best, but with victories over Ghana and Uruguay, they are already through to the next round. With that in mind, they could rest players - including Ronaldo - for this game.

Find that out and more with our dedicated live text commentary and our audio commentary, which starts at 16:55 CET.

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