Hwang the hero as South Korea reach Round of 16

There were tears of joy at Education City Stadium for South Korean players and fans while there were tears of dejection at Al Janoub Stadium among the Uruguay supporters and team players.An injury-time goal by Hwang Hee-chan last night helped South Korea to a stunning 2-1 win over Portugal in the last group stage match of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The late goal by the Wolverhampton Wanderers’ forward was enough to push out Uruguay who beat Ghana yesterday 2-0 in the other Group H clash as the South Americans fell short in their bid to reach the Round of 16.Luis Suarez sobbed uncontrollably at Al Janoub Stadium whereas South Korea skipper Son Heungmin had tears of joy as his team reached the Round of 16 in the most dramatic of finishes."I believe these tears are tears of happiness,” he said. "We waited really long for this moment and we as players believed altogether we could do this."There were moments when I wasn’t able to do my best and I am thankful for my team-mates that they were able to cover me in the moments I wasn’t able to fulfil my duties, and I’m very proud of them.”Already-qualified Portugal, the 2016 Euro champions, finished top of the group with 6 points with Cristiano Ronaldo starting the game yesterday despite a big concern over his injury. South Korea and Uruguay ended with 4 points each but the Asians went ahead by virtue of scoring more goals in the three matches of the group stage.Seconds before the first goal of the match, a fan seated behind banned Paulo Bento, remonstrated with the Portuguese coach for blocking his view. Bento, who picked up a red card during his team’s match against Uruguay for a verbal spat against the referee, could barely restrain himself while arguing with the fan.Ricardo Horta scored for Portugal in the 5th minute in what was the first genuine attempt at goal. Horta charged into the box with a defender in tow but he wasted little time in deflecting from close range to the right of the outstretched hand of keeper Kim Seunggyu.Pepe found Diogo Dalot with a long ball from the Portuguese half line. Dalor picked up the cross and went far to the edge of the Korean box. Dalot found Horta with a low shot which was easily sent into the net by the Braga forward from seven yards.Korea continued to press on in the first 12 minutes of the match with numerous moves but with a goal’s advantage, the Portuguese backline remained firm to every threatening move.In the 17th minute, Kim Jinsu tapped a loose ball into the Portuguese net after keeper Diego Costa had effected a save on an indirect corner kick. Jinsu’s tap from close range was on target but the linesman rightfully correctly called it off-side.In the 23rd minute, Ronaldo was in the right position fora close range deflection - ona long cross from Matheus Nunes - but Korea’s Kim Younggwon outpaced the Portuguese captain with a clearance for a corner.Three minutes from the first half hour, Younggwon was quick to drill home a ball that landed at his feet off Ronaldo’s body who was trying to duck away on a corner kick. Ronaldo turned his back to the ball which bounced off his right shoulder and landed near unguarded Younggwon who produced a left-footed shot.Shortly afterwards, Ronaldo was one-on-one with the Korean keeper but the Portuguese captain - in an attempt to shoot into the right of the net - failed to get the elevation on his shot that was slapped away by Seunggyu. Moments later, Ronaldo charged to receive a long cross but the Korean keeper reached first to catch the ball on the edge of his box.Dalot added to the Portuguese momentum in the 33rd minute when he unleashed a rasping left-footed drive 30 yards out but the shot was blocked by the Korean keeper.Six minutes from the first-half whistle, Korean captain Son Heungmin also rifled in a powerful shot from outside the Portuguese box but keeper Costa collected the ball to kill the move. Seconds later, Ronaldo went midair to head home - after the keeper had fumbled with his collection on a long-range shot by Vitinha, but the ball sailed away as Portugal kept Korea under sustained pressure.Close to the hour-mark, Antonio SIlva blocked a shot of Korean captain Heungmin who was inside the Portuguese box. Moments later, Korean midfielder Lee Kangin and Matheus Nunes rammed into each other causing a stoppage in play. At this point, the camera panned on Bento in the stands talking to one of his assistants.The irritated fan who was infuriated with Bento for blocking his view at the start of the match seemed to have probably swapped his seat with somebody else. Five minutes later, Ronaldo walked off after being benched. Before he took off, Ronaldo handed his captain’s armband to Pepe, 39.Hwang Inbeom, in the 66th minute, unleashed a rasping shot that hit the palms of keeper Costa and trickled away.In a missed opportunity, Jinsu sent a cross to Heungmin who connected with a bullet shot that hit Cancelo on his elbow inside the Portuguese box.South Korea vainly pleaded with the referee for a penalty in the 70th minute.Six minutes later, Dalot found Horta with a neat cross but Portugal’s goal scorer for some strange reason backtracked inside the six yard box.Just as everyone thought the game was over, South Korea turned things around in dramatic fashion in injury time. Korean captain Heungmin ran from his own box to the rival team’s box. He found Hee-chan with a neat cross near the edge before the substitute slotted home on his first attempt.