Korea – Portugal 2:1, EDIT: The Koreans created a sensation! They beat Ronaldo and co. and celebrates progress

The 2016 European champions, as the winner of Group H, will most likely avoid Brazil and face one of the trio Switzerland, Serbia, Cameroon. That will be decided by the evening matches. The Koreans are likely to face Brazil. Korea made three changes to the lineup. Coach Paulo Bento was missing from her bench due to a red card received immediately after the match with Ghana. Only from the stands could he watch the match against his country’s team, which he led to the World Cup eight years ago.

The Portuguese started with certainty of promotion and coach Fernando Santos deployed six new players in the starting line-up, including Bruno Fernandes, who scored two goals and two assists in the previous matches. Injured Nuno Mendes and Pereira will no longer play in the tournament. Only Ronaldo could not be missing in the pursuit of various records, even though he missed training due to minor injuries.

And the two newcomers wasted no time. Already in the fifth minute, Dalot ran down the right wing, found Horta in front of the goal with a back pass, and he did not hesitate. On the other side, after a short corner kick, Kim Jin-su delivered the ball into the net, but his joy was spoiled by a raised flag indicating offside. However, the Portuguese did not learn their lesson and after the next corner they already conceded regularly. From close range, the ball reached the net of defender Kim Jong-kwon.

After half an hour of the game, Ronaldo was remembered for the first time, but he could not beat the Korean goalkeeper and was also offside. Three minutes before the break, he lunged for a loose ball, but his header went wide.

After 65 minutes, three players from the Portuguese bench came on and Ronaldo finally went to rest. He has yet to equal Eusébio’s Portuguese scoring record of nine goals at the World Cup, but will have another chance to catch up with the legend who scored all the goals in a single tournament in 1966.

The Portuguese did not rush to win at any cost, but even their opponent did not have the strength to change the balance for a long time. At the same time, with a 2-0 victory for Uruguay in the parallel game with Ghana, even the closest victory would have pushed the Koreans further.

And they got it in the first minute of setup. Son Hung-min sprinted with the ball from his own half, avoided three opponents and from his pass Hwang Hi-chan scored the winning goal. Then it was only a matter of waiting six minutes until the end of the Uruguay-Ghana match, and the Koreans could start celebrating. They advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since 2010.