MY ACCOUNT
– Portugal are through, but one more point all-but guarantees they dodge Brazil in the last 16
– South Korea must go all-out for a win if they are to have any chance of escaping Group H
– Recommended bet: Portugal to win and over 2.5 goals
South Korea must beat Portugal and hope that the other Group H result goes their way if they are to progress into the World Cup knockout stages, but a soul-destroying defeat to Ghana may have drained their belief.
The Taegeuk Warriors gave everything in that clash and deserved at least a point but somehow failed to get anything.
Now, the only way they can progress is to either beat Portugal by two goals and hope the other match ends all-square or beat Portugal by the same or greater margin than Uruguay beat Ghana.
For Portugal, the scenario is simple — they are through and a point would be enough to confirm top spot.
Even a defeat will do unless Ghana beat Uruguay.
Therefore, the Iberians have the luxury of rotating and relaxing — and that could make for an end-to-end encounter against the desperate Koreans.
Team news
South Korea may again be without Hee Chan Hwang as the Wolves winger is struggling with a hamstring problem.
Manager Paulo Bento received a red card after the final whistle against Ghana and will be consigned to the stands.
Portugal manager Fernando Santos has said he will rotate his team and will be without left-back Nuno Mendes and defender Danilo Pereira.
Mendes had to come off with a thigh injury after 42 minutes against Uruguay, while Danilo fractured a rib in training.
Midfielder Otavio may also miss out as he came off injured in the opening game against Ghana and has not featured since.
The stats
While Fernando Santos is known to prefer a cautious approach, his Portugal side have been involved in plenty of high-scoring encounters in recent outings.
Three of their last five matches have seen four goals or more — beating Ghana 3-2 and both Czech Republic and Nigeria 4-0 — and his team also beat a usually-resilient Switzerland 4-0 in the Nations League.
Portugal have won eight of their last 11 games and seven of those victories were by margins of two goals or more — perhaps Santos is finally releasing the shackles?
Seven of Korea’s last 10 matches have seen three goals or more but Bento’s men have won only three of those and all three were against teams who have not reached the World Cup.
In that run, the three over 2.5 goals meetings with Qatar 2022 finalists have seen the Taegeuk Warriors lose 3-2 to Ghana and 3-0 to Japan, while drawing 2-2 against Costa Rica.
Prediction
South Korea were understandably distraught to lose to Ghana last time out as they pummelled the Ghanaian goal without getting the luck that their approach deserved.
In the 33 minutes after Kudus Mohammed put the Black Stars 3-2 up, Korea took 13 shots without being able to grab an equaliser.
Arriving on the back of an overly cautious 0-0 against Uruguay, that defeat probably spells the end of South Korea’s World Cup adventure.
Manager Bento was furious at referee Anthony Taylor at full-time — earning himself a red card — but should shoulder much of the blame for letting the Uruguay match slide by and pinning South Korea’s qualification hopes on victory over Ghana.
Now he faces a monumental task in which South Korea must beat a technically and tactically superior opponent — and possibly by two or more goals.
The situation should make for an entertaining game as South Korea must go all-out in attack and Portugal will play with freedom.
That attacking intent should provide an end-to-end game — over nine corners looks a good BetBuilder addition given South Korea’s clash with Ghana provided 17 — but is unlikely to yield the result that South Korea crave.
Back Portugal to win and over 2.5 goals, available at 17/10 with LiveScore Bet.
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