SportFootballWorld CupGroup H concludes as Son Heung-min and South Korea play group leaders Portugal at Education City Stadium
Germany crash out of World Cup despite 4-2 defeat of Costa Rica
Portugal play South Korea in the World Cup Group H decider at Education City Stadium.
Son Heung-min and his teammates must win here to stand a chance of making the last 16, while Cristiano Ronaldo and the Selecao need a point to guarantee top spot.
The winner of the group faces the runner up from Group G (Brazil, Switzerland, Cameroon, Serbia), while the runner-up will play the winner, likely to be the South Americans, with the five-time winners the current favourites.
The pressure is on the Taegeuk Warriors after defeat to the Black Stars, while Portugal had too much for Uruguay last time out.
Follow the action with our live blog below, including Ghana vs Uruguay updates:
1669989187‘An absolute catastrophe’: Germany plunged into identity crisis after World Cup exitA few minutes had passed since the kind of scenario that, until a few years ago, no one under the age of 80 had witnessed, and Thomas Muller was waving. Germany had gone out of the World Cup at the first hurdle, just as they did in 2018, and Muller seemed to be waving goodbye to their supporters. It was a chastening end for a genuine Germany great.
It will not be remembered as the night he drew level with his former teammate Bastian Schweinsteiger on 121 caps. Not when Germany were eliminated and Muller described his fourth and final World Cup as “an absolute catastrophe”.
Like Manuel Neuer, Muller has straddled eras. He was a star of the glorious past, a struggler in the sorry present. He was always an enormously symbolic figure; the big-game player with the sharp footballing brain, he was parachuted into the 2010 team at 20 and scored five goals.
He got five more as they won the 2014 World Cup. But he has failed to score in group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022. Far from breaking his former sidekick Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals, he remains the second-highest scoring Muller, after his namesake Gerd. He seemed destined to cruise past Jurgen Klinsmann’s total of 11. Now he never will.
Michael Jones2 December 2022 13:53
1669988947Bruno Fernandes responds after Cristiano Ronaldo claims his World Cup goalBruno Fernandes says it does not matter who scored Portugal’s opener in a 2-0 victory over Uruguay that secured their place in the World Cup knockout phase.
It initially looked as though Cristiano Ronaldo had drawn level with Portugal’s record World Cup goalscorer Eusebio when he rose to try and head in Fernandes’ 54th-minute cross.
But replays showed that the Portugal captain, who has scored eight World Cup goals, did not get a touch on it and the goal was given to Fernandes as his team claimed a second successive Group H win.
Michael Jones2 December 2022 13:49
1669988707Ronaldo a doubt for the matchPortugal coach Fernando Santos has admitted that Cristiano Ronaldo’s availability was still in question for today’s final group game versus South Korea.
Ronaldo missed Wednesday’s practice and with his team already through to the knockout stages, the 37-year-old could be rested against South Korea, even if fit.
“I think it is 50-50 if he plays or not, we’ll see,” Santos told a news conference on Thursday. “It will depend on if and how he practices today, if we see he is in good condition… there is a plan for if he is not available.”
Michael Jones2 December 2022 13:45
1669988457Bruno Fernandes’ role reverses as he starts World Cup as star turnBruno Fernandes entered Euro 2020 after the season of his life and exited it with no goals and no assists. He had a solitary shot on target, created far fewer chances than usual and only started two games. It came after a season when he had delivered 28 goals and 17 assists for Manchester United.
There were, it seemed, two Fernandeses, the United talisman, the Portugal bit-part man. His club played with a No 10 and built their side around him. His country deemed the position redundant and selected a team around Cristiano Ronaldo.
Some 18 months on, Fernandes is wearily familiar with the narrative that he delivers less when he is teamed with Ronaldo. Belatedly, in the week after his compatriot’s explosive departure from Old Trafford, is rebuffing it. Two games into the World Cup and Fernandes ranks joint top for assists and behind only Enner Valencia and Kylian Mbappe for goals. He has been directly involved in four of Portugal’s goals, Ronaldo the other one.
Michael Jones2 December 2022 13:40
1669988157Everything wrong with the Qatar World CupOut of the many facts and figures circulated about Qatar’s problems, there is one realisation that should stand above everything. It is a disgrace that, in 2022, a country can host a World Cup where it has lured millions of people from the poorest countries on earth – often under false pretences – and then forced them into what many call “modern slavery”.
And yet this has just been accepted. The World Cup carries on, an end product of a structure that is at once Orwellian and Kafkaesque. A huge underclass of people work in an autocratic surveillance state, amid an interconnected network of issues that make it almost impossible to escape. “It’s all so embedded,” says Michael Page of Human Rights Watch.
Many will point to similar problems in the west but this isn’t the failure of a system. It is the system, global inequality taken to an extreme. “The bottom line is that these human rights abuses are not normal for a World Cup host,” says Minky Worden, also of Human Rights Watch.
Michael Jones2 December 2022 13:35
1669987857South Korea vs Portugal predictionPortugal seem to be gradually hitting their stride, and they should have too much momentum for a valiant but vulnerable South Korea.
South Korea 1-2 Portugal.
Michael Jones2 December 2022 13:30
1669987557Where can I watch South Korea vs Portgual?South Korea vs Portugal is scheduled to kick off at 3pm GMT on Friday 2 December. The match is set to take place at the Education City Stadium in Al-Rayyan.
In the UK, the game will air live on BBC One, and it will also stream live on the BBC iPlayer website and app.
Michael Jones2 December 2022 13:25
1669987257South Korea vs Portugal early team news and predicted line-upsHwang Hee-chan is expected to remain absent for South Korea due to a hamstring injury, while Portugal’s Nuno Mendes is set to miss out after sustaining an injury last time out.
Danilo also remains unavailable for Portugal, as does Otavio.
Predicted line-ups
South Korea XI: Seung-gyu; Moon-hwan, Min-jae, Young-gwon, Jin-su; Woo-young, In-beom; Chang-hoon, Woo-yeong, Heung-min; Gue-sung
Portugal XI: Costa; Cancelo, Pepe, Dias, Guerreiro; Bernardo, Neves, Carvalho; Fernandes; Ronaldo, Felix
Michael Jones2 December 2022 13:20
1669986706South Korea vs PortugalHello and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the final round of group stage fixtures as the last four places in the round of 16 get filled.
Groups G and H conclude this afternoon with Portugal and Brazil already sure of a spot in the next though both sides will be fighting it out to top their respective groups.
Portugal and Group H are up in the 3pm kick offs with Cristiano Ronaldo’s men taking on South Korea and Luis Suarez’s Uruguay facing Ghana.
Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea can all reach the last-16 but to do so they would need to defeat their opponents. Ghana have a slight advantage as a draw with Uruguay would send them through providing Portgual also defeat South Korea.
Stick around and follow all the action from Qatar this afternoon.
Michael Jones2 December 2022 13:11
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