The Salt Lake Tribune E-edition

South Korea advances at World Cup after wild finish to group

Al Rayan, Qatar • South Korea advanced to the round of 16 at the World Cup on the tiebreaker of goals scored after beating Portugal 2-1 Friday following a stoppage-time strike from Hwang Hee-chan.

South Korea was heading out of the tournament until Son Heung-min led a length-of-the-field breakaway in the first minute of added time and slipped a pass through to Hwang, who converted a low finish.

Son and his teammates then formed a huddle in the middle of the field after the final whistle and watched coverage of the end of the other Group H match between Uruguay and Ghana on a cell phone. South Korea’s team’s fans were in tears, and some were praying.

When that game finished 2-0 to Uruguay and South Korea was sure of its second-place finish, the players erupted in joy.

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

Portugal had already advanced after two games and won the group.

Uruguay 2, Ghana 0 • In Al Wakrah, Qatar, Uruguay and Luis Suarez were eliminated from the World Cup despite a 2-0 win over Ghana on Friday.

The result also put Ghana out of the competition.

Suarez played a key role in both first-half goals for Uruguay scored by Giorgian De Arrascaeta.

Uruguay was in a position to go through until South Korea’s late goal gave it a 2-1 win over Portugal in the other Group H game. That meant Uruguay needed to score one more goal in the dying minutes of its game to qualify.

It didn’t and Suarez was distraught on the sidelines and covered his face with his shirt having been substituted in what was likely his last World Cup appearance.

Switzerland 3, Serbia 2 • In Doha, Qatar, Switzerland advanced to the last 16 of the World Cup for the third tournament in a row after a 3-2 win over Serbia on Friday.

Remo Freuler scored the winning goal just after halftime as the Swiss secured second place in Group G. They will next face Portugal on Tuesday at Lusail Stadium.

Freuler finished off a backheel pass from Ruben Vargas after Xherdan Shaqiri clipped a ball into the penalty box.

Shaqiri put Switzerland ahead early in the first half before Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic responded for Serbia. Breel Embolo evened the score just before halftime.

Switzerland needed a win to guarantee itself a place in the knockout round after beating Cameroon and losing to Brazil in its opening two games. The team reached the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and again four years later in Russia. They lost 1-0 in both matches, to Argentina and Sweden, respectively.

Against Portugal, the Swiss will be looking to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since hosting the competition in 1954.

Cameroon 1, Brazil 0 • In Lusail, Qatar, Vincent Aboubakar’s powerful header was historic for Cameroon and Africa at the World Cup. The stoppage-time goal didn’t help Cameroon reach the round of 16 despite the team’s win over Brazil’s reserves on Friday. But it handed the fivetime champions their first group-stage loss in 24 years, and gave Africa its first win against the Selecao at the tournament.

Aboubakar was sent off after a second booking for taking off his shirt during his celebration, leading him to miss the final minutes of his team’s big victory.

Brazil had won its previous seven matches against African opponents at the World Cup. Brazil, which had already reached the knockout stage after victories over Serbia and Switzerland, still finished first in Group H. It ended with six points, the same as Switzerland, but the South Americans had a better goal difference. Cameroon ended with four points and Serbia had one.

Brazil will face South Korea in the round of 16, while the Swiss will play against Portugal.

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2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

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