Korea's battle uphill from here as Taeguk Warriors face Brazil

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Published: 04 Dec. 2022, 15:59

Korea's battle uphill from here as Taeguk Warriors face Brazil

Son Heung-min, right, and Neymar congratulate each other at the end of a friendly between Korea and Brazil at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo district, western Seoul, on June 2. [NEWS1]

Korea is now facing an uphill battle against Brazil in the round of 16 on Monday evening, after having advanced in spectacular fashion on Friday night.

While Brazil is the top nation in the FIFA World rankings and also one of the strongest contenders for the World Cup, the Taeguk Warriors have proven themselves capable against stronger countries by beating group favorites Portugal 2-1 Friday night.

With the win, Korea edged out Uruguay to take second place in Group H and earn a spot in the knockout stage.

Kim Young-gwon and Hwang Hee-chan were the heroes Korea needed at Education City Stadium in Doha, each slotting in a goal for the win.

Kim played an especially important role in defense as well, successfully holding off the Portuguese attacking line despite the absence of center back Kim Min-jae.

While Korea conceded in the fifth minute, the first half was fairly evenly matched and they rallied quickly to get back into the game.

In the 27th minute, Kim Young-gwon found a chance that provided them with an equalizer, picking up a Lee Kang-in corner that bounced off Cristiano Ronaldo’s back and slotting it into the back of the net.

At the start of the second half, Korea dropped deeper but continued to push for fast attacks down the wings and Bento’s beloved set pieces. Captain Son Heung-min, who has looked sluggish at points over the last two games, provided some rapid counterattacks that created good opportunities, though none that the team was able to capitalize on.

The pace of the game markedly changed in the 65th minute when Ronaldo, Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes were all substituted off as Portugal looked to rest some important starters ahead of the knockout stage. Hwang also came on at the same time, making his first appearance of the tournament.

Korea turned the heat up again for the final 20 minutes of the game, putting constant pressure on Diogo Costa while, at the other end of the pitch, the defense repeatedly worked the offside trap to hold off any Portuguese attacks.

Yet despite the obvious momentum in Korea’s favor, it looked for most of the second half like it might just be too little, too late, with the Taeguk Warriors unable to capitalize on multiple corners and free kicks.

Korea started to slip in the final 10 minutes of the game, with Portugal seizing on a couple of opportunities to go on the offensive.

But Korea’s chance finally came in the 90th minute. Son broke away from a Portugal corner, running the length of the pitch to play the ball through Diogo Dalot’s legs to Hwang, who fired it into the bottom left corner from around the penalty spot to give Korea a 2-1 lead.

Against all odds and facing one of the harder draws in the World Cup, Korea had earned their ticket to the round of 16.

Son Heung-min, center, fights for the ball with Portugal's midfielder Joao Palhinha, right, during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group H football match between Korea and Portugal at the Education City Stadium in Al-Rayyan, west of Doha, on Friday. [AFP/YONHAP]

However, what Korea will face next is an even bigger challenge, maybe even the toughest challenge the World Cup has to offer — squaring off against No. 1 Brazil in the knockout stage.

Brazil is the most successful country when it comes to the World Cup after having won five titles in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002.

They have also finished second place twice, third place twice and fourth place twice.

The Taeguk Warriors and Brazil also met recently, having faced off in a friendly over the summer.

Brazil beat Korea 5-1 at the time, capitalizing on two penalties and a star-studded lineup to take a comfortable victory over an injury-stricken Taeguk Warriors.

From the very start, Brazil was looking strong, nearly pulling ahead in the opening couple of minutes, with Thiago Silva heading a ball into the back of the net only to be ruled offside.

Despite the missed opportunity, it didn’t take the visitors long to get on the board. Richarlison was credited with Brazil’s first goal in the sixth minute, a nice shot from Fred that the Everton striker accidentally deflected into Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu — luckily with enough force that it still bounced into the net.

The onslaught continued, but Korea rallied and managed to hold off a number of opportunities from the ever-dangerous Neymar.

Korea slotted their first and last goal in the 30th minute. A well-placed pass from Hwang Hee-chan found Hwang Ui-jo in the box, with the Hwang Ui-jo turning around Silva to beat goalkeeper Weverton and fire the ball into the bottom left corner.

Although possession wasn’t too mismatched throughout the first half, Brazil clearly controlled the offensive momentum.

The clash between Korea and Brazil was always going to be a David versus Goliath fight, with the pure star power in the Brazilian lineup essentially guaranteeing the South American side a win before they even walked onto the pitch.

But Korea were still able to frustrate the Brazilians. The possession divide wasn’t embarrassing, and Korea did plenty to keep the visitors on their toes in the midfield.

There were mistakes, two of which led to penalties that took the score from understandable to slightly embarrassing. But, spot kicks aside, Korea didn’t hugely underperform.

That is overall what Korea will be looking to do on Monday: hold down the leading team until Korea can find a chance of their own.

Korea may also have some tricks up their sleeve this time around as they face Brazil.

The sudden arrival of Lee Kang-in and Cho Gue-sung in the starting XI suggest Bento is finally starting to recognize the strength Korea has in its younger stars.

The return of Hwang Hee-chan — who may be struggling in the Premier League but has always proved a very dangerous part of Korea — is a very exciting sign, as is the slight indication that Son may be being given more room to focus on creating goalscoring opportunities, rather than playing every role across the entire midfield.

Brazil will be a very difficult nut for Korea to crack, and something very special will have to happen for the Taeguk Warriors to reach the quarterfinals in the face of such formidable opposition. If they are able to do it, however, there may be very little limit to just how far they can go.

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