Ecstasy and agony
With Portugal already assured of its place in the pre-quarters, Uruguay and South Korea finished level on points, but the latter made it to the round of 16 by virtue of more goals scored.
On the last day of group games at the Qatar World Cup, in the dying moments of play in Group H, South Korea was tied 1-1 with Portugal at the Education City Stadium while Uruguay led Ghana 2-0 at the Al Janoub. Portugal was already through. The second knockout spot in the group was up for grabs for the remaining three.
After darting across the length of the pitch, Son Heung-min squeezed a pass through three defenders. Hwang Hee-chan got to Son’s pass, placed it to the right of Portugal’s Diogo Costa and won the contest for South Korea in stoppage time.
Ecstasy for South Korea was agony for Luis Suarez’s Uruguay. The striker was moved to tears on the bench as he heard the news of the Asians winning.
Uruguay, leading 2-0, needed a third to go through. Both, Uruguay and Korea, were level on points, but the latter was going through by virtue of more goals scored.
The grace of stoppage time ended. Uruguay was knocked out — the second giant killing by South Korea in as many editions. Not to forget its win against Portugal.
The Asian side was the surprise package from Group H. It just did not relent. Not when Uruguay dominated, not when it was losing 2-3 to Ghana, and not even when it just had six minutes to save its journey in Qatar.
It dug in, earned a draw against Uruguay, and then won against Portugal to reach the last 16 for the first time since 2010.
Uruguay, meanwhile, gets a chance to rethink its approach after the early exit. It seemed like a team still in transition. It looked toothless in attack and was wasteful of even the little it created. The team’s results — a goalless draw to South Korea and 0-2 loss to Portugal — reflect that. The final flourish against Ghana proved insufficient for the two-time champion.
Portugal topped the group. While its first match against Ghana was a narrow win, Fernando Santos would doff his hat to the team’s win over Uruguay. The team finally showed depth to not rely solely on its greatest player ever — Cristiano Ronaldo. Bruno Fernandes, Joao Felix and Bernardo Silva were among the top performers. It lost the final match, but with a heavily rotated side aimed at resting players for the Round of 16 game.
Ghana, coming into the tournament as the lowest-ranked team, punched above its weight. Yet, it was a World Cup of ‘ifs’ for the African team.
If not for a slip by Inaki Williams in stoppage time, the Black Stars would have earned a point against Portugal. If not for Andre Ayew’s missed penalty versus Uruguay, the team might have made it to the knockouts.
Nonetheless, Ghana gave one of the best matches of the tournament, a 3-2 win over South Korea.