Ghana 3-2 Korea as early wobble spells disaster for Taeguk Warriors

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Published: 29 Nov. 2022, 01:01 Updated: 29 Nov. 2022, 13:33

Ghana 3-2 Korea as early wobble spells disaster for Taeguk Warriors

Cho Gue-sung, left, duels for the ball with Ghana's Abdul Rahman Baba during a World Cup Group H match between Korea and Ghana, at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar on Monday. [AP/YONHAP]

Korea was beaten 3-2 by Ghana in their second Group H match of the 2022 World Cup at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar on Monday.

Korean head coach Paulo Bento made a number of changes to the starting lineup, replacing struggling veteran forward Hwang Ui-jo with fiery youngster Cho Gue-sung and benching Na Sang-ho and Lee Jae-sung in favor of Kwon Chang-hoon and Jeong Woo-yeong.

Ghana took a quick lead in the first half with Mohammed Salisu opening the scoring in the 24th minute and Mohammed Kudus scoring the second goal.

The first goal was controversial, with a VAR check to see if there had been a Ghana handball in the lead-up. Despite what, from television footage, appeared to be clear ball-to-hand contact, referee Anthony Taylor allowed the goal to stand.

After the whistle for half time blew with 2-0 on the scoreboard, it was K League top scorer Cho who came to the rescue, scoring both of Korea's goals in the second half. Cho's goal in the 58th minute marked Korea's first shot on target of the entire tournament.

Despite making his first start, Cho also became the first Korean ever to score a brace at a World Cup.

With substitute Lee Kang-in's assist from the left, Cho headed in the first goal in the 58th minute, then came back three minutes later, diving into the Ghana net to head in defender Kim Jin-su's cross. He is the first scorer at the 2022 Qatar World Cup to have scored two goals in one game with his head.

The first goal also comes as a big milestone for Lee, the fancy-footed young midfielder considered by many fans to be Son Heung-min's successor at the head of the next generation of international Korean stars.

While he has struggled to make it into the squad in recent years, Monday's assist came within one minute of Lee making it onto the pitch, clearly proving how much value he can bring to the team.

Lee Kang-in, right, shoots during a World Cup Group H match between Korea and Ghana at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar on Monday. [YONHAP]

Cho Gue-sung, center, celebrates after scoring Korea's second goal during a World Cup Group H match between Korea and Ghana at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar on Monday. [AP/YONHAP]

While Cho's effort kept the score equal at 2-2 for seven minutes, Ghana's Kudus found another chance and beat Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-kyu in the 68th minute.

Korea spent the next 30 minutes hammering at the Ghana goal but repeatedly failed to break through, leaving the Taeguk Warriors with a tough 3-2 loss and an extremely difficult path to the round of 16.

The game ended in particularly galling fashion for Korea, with Taylor blowing the whistle to end the game on a Korean corner.

The decision to end the game in a potential goal-scoring position was highly controversial. Although technically within the letter of the law, referees generally wait until any scoring opportunity has passed before ending the game.

Taylor's reasoning, undoubtedly, was that the allotted 10 minutes had past and he had already allowed a minute more before the ball went out of play, but that's a difficult argument to make with such a huge moment in such a big game, especially considering then delays there had been during injury time.

Adding insult to injury, Taylor showed Bento a red card when he protested the decision after the end of the game, a decision that is again within his rights, but appears to be a huge overreaction in reality. As a result, Bento will not be on the sideline when Korea face Portugal later this week.

But for Cho it was a very special night. The young striker only made his national team debut last September during a World Cup qualifier against Lebanon. However, while that was a scrappy game for the Taeguk Warriors, Cho was able to prove himself in his debut, scoring the sole goal of the match. Cho has since made 16 appearances for the Taeguk Warriors and scored a total of four goals.

Cho also played some incredible football in the domestic league last season. He scored 17 goals and marked five assists in 31 matches, becoming the highest scorer in the K League. He was named the FA Cup MVP after scoring three of the eight goals in both legs of the FA Cup finals.

"We played today's match as if was our last," said Cho on Monday. "Me and all the other players were so ready to give it everything we had, but I feel terrible to think that we disappointed all the Korean fans watching late at night. However, we still have one match left and we won't give up."

Despite the obviously disappointing result, Bento tried to focus on the positives.

"I think that we made a good game," said Bento "I think we made enough to win the game and in my opinion it is not a fair result but I am happy with how the players performed."

As of press time, Korea has dropped down to third in Group H with one point, having drawn with Uruguay last Thursday. Portugal now have six points after beating Ghana 3-2 last week then also beating Uruguay 2-0 on Monday. Ghana now has three points after beating Korea 3-2 and Uruguay has one point.

Korea will round off the group stage against Portugal on Friday at Education City Stadium. Korea will need to beat Portugal to make it to the knockout stage.

BY YUN SO-HYANG AND JIM BULLEY [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]