World Cup: South Korea beat Portugal 2-1 to reach last 16

South Korea, on Friday, reached the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup on goals scored after Hee-Chan Hwang struck a 91st-minute winner to beat Portugal 2-1.

Only twice before in their history had South Korea advanced to the knockout stages of the World Cup.

Hwang came off the bench to send reverberations from the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, to Seoul in dramatic fashion as he latched onto Heung-Min Son’s pass to slot past Diogo Costa in the 91st minute.

Portugal, already qualified for the last 16 and needing only a draw to be sure of the top spot in the group, grabbed the lead with a fifth-minute goal from Ricardo Horta, who met a Diogo Dalot cross and hammered it home from close range.

Young-Gwon Kim gave the Taeguk Warriors a lifeline after pouncing on a bouncing ball in the goalmouth and hooking it into the net in the 27th minute.

Uruguay, however, beat Ghana 2-0 but they were knocked out of the World Cup on goals scored after South Korea’s win.

Portugal top the group on six points while South Korea join them having finished second in Group H. Uruguay are eliminated despite their victory over Ghana.

Portugal will now face the runners-up of Group G, who are currently Switzerland, on Tuesday, December 6, while South Korea are likely to take on Group G winners Brazil on Monday, December 5.

The Star