South Korea v Portugal: World Cup 2022 – live

Key events

An email: “On the Metro on the way to the stadium and I can confirm the crowd is 40% Portugal, 10% South Korea but 50% (already annoying) Ronaldo fans shouting, ‘Siuuu!!!’,” writes Hugh Molloy.

South Korea v Portugal line-ups

South Korea: Kim Seung-gyu, Kim Moon-hwan, Kwon Kyung-won, Kim Young-gwon, Kim Jin-su, Lee Jae-sung, Lee Kang-in, Jeong Woo-yeong, Hwang In-beom, Son Heung-min, Cho Gue-sung.

Subs: Yoon, Min-Jae Kim, Paik, Hee-Chan Hwang, Bum-Keun Song, Jun-Ho Son, Hong, Eui-Jo Hwang, Na, Jo, Chang-Hoon Kwon, Tae-Hwan Kim, Yu-Min Cho, Jeong, Min-Kyu Song.

Portugal: Diogo Costa, Diogo Dalot, Pepe, Antonio Silva, Joao Cancelo, Matheus Nunes, Ruben Neves, Vitinha, Joao Mario, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Horta.

Subs: Rui Patricio, Dias, Guerreiro, Joao Palhinha, Bruno Fernandes, Andre Silva, Bernardo Silva, Joao Felix, Jose Sa, William Carvalho, Leao, Goncalo Ramos.

Paulo Bento: South Korea’s manager will send his team out to beat the country of his birth today but will be absent from the dug-out after being shown a red card for dissent following the defeat at the hands of Ghana.

“They make most of the choices, they suggest them to me,” he said of the coaching staff who will be on the touchline. “It’s not going to be a problem. This time they will be on their own but it won’t change much.” Bento also said he will happily sing both nations’ national anthems from his seat in the stands.

South Korea's head coach Paulo Bento fielding questions from the press ahead of his South Korea side’s match against Portugal, the country of his birth.
South Korea’s head coach Paulo Bento fielding questions from the press ahead of his South Korea side’s match against Portugal, the country of his birth. Photograph: Lee Jin-man/AP

Fernando Santos: “If we had to face each other, it would be a game between two great teams,” said Portugal coach Fernando Santos of the prospect of his team facing Brazil if they finish second in Group H. “But our wish, and Brazil’s, is that we meet later on.”

Portugal manager Fernando Santos hopes to avoid Brazil in the next round.
Portugal manager Fernando Santos hopes to avoid Brazil in the next round. Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

Today’s match officials

  • Referee: Facundo Tello

  • Assistant referees: Ezequiel Braislovsky and Gabriel Chade

  • Fourth official: Maguette N’Diaye

  • Video Assistant Referee: Nicolas Gallo

Argentinian referee Facundo Tello is the man in the middle for today’s match between South Korea and Portugal.
Argentinian referee Facundo Tello is the man in the middle for today’s match between South Korea and Portugal. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters

Early team news

Sidelined with a hamstring injury, Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan has yet to feature for South Korea in this tournament and is a major doubt for this game. Son Heung-min will lead the line on his 107th appearance for his country.

Cristiano Ronaldo missed training yesterday and his participation in this game is in doubt, while Portugal are definitely without left-back Nuno Mendes, who has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament after being forced off against Uruguay. Defensive midfielder Danilo and right-sided midfielder Otavio are also expected to sit out today’s game.

Those Group H permutations in full*

Portugal have qualified. A point will guarantee they win the group.

Ghana: A win against Uruguay will put Ghana through. A draw will be enough unless South Korea beat Portugal, in which case Ghana must hope South Korea pull off only a one goal victory, otherwise the Asian side will pip them on goal difference.

South Korea: They must beat Portugal, and hope that Ghana do not win. If Ghana draw then their hopes depend on their goal difference compared to Ghana. If Ghana lose, then South Korean hopes depend on their goal difference compared to Uruguay.

Uruguay: Uruguay must win, and hope that South Korea do not win against Portugal. If both Uruguay and South Korea win, then their relative goal differences will decide who qualifies. Uruguay start with a goal difference one worse than South Korea, so would have to beat Ghana by more than South Korea beat Portugal.

* Shamelessly plundered from Martin Belam’s World Cup live blog.

Group H: South Korea v Portugal

With apologies to any German readers, now that the rest of us have calmed down yesterday’s excitement it’s time for the four teams in Group H to take up the cudgels. A certain Luis Suarez and his role in the high profile grudge match between Ghana and Uruguay have dominated the headlines in the build-up to today’s action but there’s plenty riding on the game between South Korea and Portugal too.

While Portugal have already booked their berth in the last 16, a draw or win today will guarantee them top spot. South Korea, by contrast, have to win today and even then their passage to the knockout stages is not secured. As well as winning their own game, they need Uruguay to do them a favour by getting at least a point against Ghana. Kick off at the Education Stadium is at 3pm (GMT) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.

source: theguardian.com