South Korea

SOUTH Korea held their head very high as a last-gasp 2-1 goal shocked Portugal at the Qatar World Cup.

With qualification already secured, the Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal tried to maintain their all-win record in their final Group H encounter. But they were in for an unexpected result.

South Korea have yet to muster a win at this 2022 FIFA World Cup. But they registered an out-of-this-world victory to progress to the Round of 16. 

It was simply unbelievable: The South Korea’s players react at the final whistle after a dramatic injury-time goal from Hwang Hee-Chan sends them through to the second round of the World Cup.

INJURY-TIME WINNER

Hwang gave South Korea the sensational injury-time victory over Portugal that meant they beat Uruguayto a last-16 place – simply on goals scored.

Hwang ran Son Heung-min‘s pass in the 91st minute to round off a counter-attack and start wild celebrations from his side’s fans in the stands.

As a result, Portugal and Uruguay enter the knockout stages from Group H, at the expense of Uruguay and Ghana.

WHO QUALIFIES

Here’s what the Round of 16 fixtures are:

Netherlands vs USA

Argentina vs Australia 

France vs Poland 

England vs Senegal

Japan vs Croatia

Brazil vs South Korea

Morocco vs Spain 

Portugal vs Switzerland

And surely, you can sit at the edge of your seats and expect more Qatar-styled upsets.

* Suresh Nair is an award-winning sports journalist who is also a qualified international coach and international referee instructor.

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