Another dramatic day in Qatar as South Korea came from behind to beat the more-fancied Portugal 2-1 to qualify for the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2022 on Friday.
Pure joy.#FIFAWorldCup | #KOR
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 2, 2022
South Korea scored a remarkable stoppage-time winner against Portugal to secure their progress to the knockout rounds in improbable fashion.
Hwang Hee-chan gave South Korea a sensational injury-time victory over Portugal that meant they beat Uruguay to a last-16 place 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.
South Korea will play Brazil on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals.
Hwang Heechan’s winner has put South Korea through to the round of 16 at the World Cup with a 2-1 win over Portugal.
Hwang made his strike after captain Son Heungmin sprinted the length of the pitch in possession to set up the goal at Qatar’s Education City Stadium.
Portugal opened the scoring after five minutes, thanks to Ricardo Horta.
Group H was so competitive that it wasn’t until eight minutes after the final whistle blew that South Korea knew their fate: Uruguay’s 2-0 victory against Ghana was not enough to edge Son’s men on goal difference.
The South Korean team huddled on the centre circle, crowding round a phone showing the final, frantic, moments of their rivals’ game before exploding into joyous celebrations as they marked making it beyond the World Cup’s group stage for only the third time.
Portugal had already qualified for the knock-out stages before this final group game, and made six changes from the team that beat Uruguay 2-0; Dalot and Horta among those bought in.