In one of the most epic turnarounds in this tournament, South Korea pulled off a stunning last moment victory over Portugal after an unexpected goal by Hwang Hee-chan in the 91st minute to help his team secure a shocking 2-1 victory in the final Group H match. The victory ensured that South Korea advanced to the Round of 16, while Portugal had already qualified after a victory in their last match against Uruguay.
Hwang’s goal and the Korean victory allowed the team to narrowly surge past Uruguay on goal difference to take the second spot in the Group H rankings and reach the knockouts.
As the match began, Portugal shot the first blow as Ricardo Horta scored the opening goal for his team in the 5th minute, giving Ronaldo and his men an early lead over their Asian opponents. Not too deep into the first half, South Korea was able to fight back with an equalizer by Young-Gwon Kim in the 27th minute. As the referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half, the scores were leveled at 1-1.
The second half of the match began with Portugal enjoying more possession and stroking the ball around, but South Korea managed to hold their ground, not allowing Ronaldo and his men to capitalize on any scoring opportunity they created. An increasingly adaptive play by the Koreans allowed them to maintain their calm amidst the Portuguese attack and look for the right opportunity to strike.
With the Portugal Captain Ronaldo getting replaced by striker Andre Silva the 65th minute, The Koreans left out a sigh of relief with the exit of the danger man, as South Korea now began hunting for that one winning goal that would take them through to a potential knockout clash with Brazil.
As the timer hit 90 minutes and 8 minutes of extra time being added, it quite seemingly looked like we were heading for a draw in an unexpectedly competitive match up. However, at 1 minutes into extra time, Hwang Hee-chan sprinted in relentlessly for the ball following a sublime pass by Son Heung-min into the box. Hwang swept the ball past Diogo Costa and into the far corner, pushing his team to a stunning 2-1 lead over the stronger Portuguese side into the closing moments of the match. It wasn’t too long as the referee blew the final hustle, giving South Korea a huge and unexpected upset victory over a much stronger Portuguese side.
South Korea only had one point in their kitty as they headed into this match. They needed to beat Portugal no matter what, if they wanted to have any good chance of making it to the top 16. First an equalizer by Young-Gwon Kim in the 27th minute and then an unexpected winner by Hwang Hee-chan in extra time rescued South Korea from the brink of a World Cup elimination. The thrilling 2-1 victory has ensured South Korea make it to the round of 16 for the first time since the 2010 World Cup, where they will be up against the Group G toppers and five-time world champions Brazil.
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