South Korea advances at World Cup knockout stage, beat Portugal 2-1

This news has been read 4470 times!

AL RAYYAN, Qatar (AP) — South Korea’s players formed a circle in the center of the field and trained their eyes on several cell phones showing a nearby match that would decide their future at the World Cup.

The South Koreans had just about done their job, beating Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates 2-1 on a stoppage-time goal.

Now came an agonizing wait. To advance to the round of 16, they just needed Uruguay to not score a goal against Ghana in the other group match that still had at least six minutes to play.

Thousands of red-and-white-clad South Korea fans had whipped out their phones, too. Some prayed. Others were crying, just like captain Son Heung-min in the players’ huddle.

They could soon really party.

South Korea advanced on the tiebreaker of goals scored, pushing Uruguay into third place Friday in one of the wildest finishes to a group in the tournament’s 92-year history.

“It really feels like a miracle,” South Korea striker Cho Gue-sung said.

South Korea and Uruguay finished with four points and both had a goal difference of zero, but the Asian team scored four goals compared to Uruguay’s two.

“We never gave up,” Son said through tears. “Our players were trying to run an extra step more, sacrificing themselves, and that allowed us to achieve a good result.“

This news has been read 4470 times!