It’s been over a decade since the two sides last met at the international side, where South Korea eliminated Portgual in the 2002 World Cup
In a match they have to win, South Korea faced a Ronaldo-led Portgual at Qatar’s Education City Stadium, winning 2-1.
Already qualified for the Round of 16, Fernando Santos decided to switch up the starters by putting in 19-year-old Antonio Silva to debut in his first World Cup tournament.
The Portuguese appeared confident from the very start as Ricardo Horta put his team in the lead in the 5th minute of the match.
The early lead was gifted by Diogo Dalot, gliding the ball past the South Korean defenders to Horta, who shot it past the goalkeeper’s gloves.
Despite the early point, South Korea responded with its own goal, but it was ruled offside in the 17th minute.
Minutes later, Kim Young-Gwon’s left-footed shot would be too easy not to miss, leveling up the game to 1-1.
With the momentum levelled, the two sides looked equal: Portugal held 47% possession, and South Korea maintained the majority at 52%.
An end-to-end play transpires in the 29th minute, with Christiano Ronaldo receiving the ball outside the box and striking it to a near miss from the net.
At halftime, Portgual captured back the possession of the game with 55% and shot six balls on target, with South Korea shooting only three.
Coach Paulo Bento changed up the tactics for his Asian squad, with Koreans led by Son Heung-min making strives to the attack.
Son shoots from inside the box, but the grace of the Portgual defence saves it in the 55th minute.
Portugal’s talisman Ronaldo is subbed off with Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes for Andre Silva, Rafael Leao, and Joao Palhinha minutes before the 70th mark.
South Korea makes another change by bringing in Hwang Hee-chan for Lee Jaesung.
Minutes before the game ends, South Korea’s search for a goal finally results as Hee-Chan makes a right-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner in the 91st minute.
Ironically, a yellow card is booked for Hee-Chan for excessive celebration, yet the Koreans qualified for the next round as Uruguay finished their game 2-0 to Ghana.
