South Korea vs Portugal – World Cup Group H: How they are doing, injuries and predictions with Ronaldo already through

PORTUGAL hope to match their 100 percent record ahead of the knockout stages of the World Cup when they take on South Korea.

Cristiano Ronaldo dreams that what is likely to be his last World Cup will be the crowning achievement of one of the greatest players of all time.

4

4

South Korea must do everything – even a win might not be enough if Ghana beat Uruguay.

They hope Portugal boss Fernando Santos will change his squad before the last 16 games.

And the sight of Ronaldo on the bench could be the boost Korea is looking for.

SunSport takes a look at what to expect from South Korea vs Portugal, including our result prediction.

How are you?

South Korea: The first game was a dismal 0-0 draw with Uruguay that ultimately gave both sides a mountain to climb in order to qualify.

Their second game was real heartbreak. Korea struggled from a 2-0 deficit to equalize against Ghana – but Mohammed Kudos sacked Ghana’s winner seven minutes later.

Read full South Korea vs Ghana report here…

Portugal: It was an exciting start for Portugal, who beat Ghana 3-2 in a thriller in their opening game.

And what looked like a tricky game against Uruguay on paper was anything but two goals from Bruno Fernandes.

Read the full report between Portugal and Uruguay here…

Any injuries to worry about?

Sfrom Korea: Hee-Chan Hwang will miss the crunch duel with a hamstring injury.

The son is expected to continue playing with a face mask to protect his injured cheekbone.

Portugal: Boss Santos has revealed that star man Cristiano Ronaldo has not trained with the rest of the squad and he is likely to miss this final group game.

Danilo Pereira and Nuno Mendes are also injured.

4

4

who to watch

South Korea: Unsurprisingly, Korea will be hoping for Son Heung-min to defuse the Portuguese defence.

He has yet to score and although Cho Gue-sung scored both goals in the Ghana defeat, this must be Son’s chance to shine.

Portugal: Santos was still able to shuffle his pack, although he was eager to continue his 100 percent record.

But Bruno Fernandes should start if he wants to win the World Cup golden boot this winter.

permutations

Portugal secure first place in the group with a win or a draw.

For Korea to advance, they need to win the game and hope Uruguay beat Ghana – but then it will be the goal difference between these two potential winners that will matter.

Korea currently have a ONE goal difference, so it could be an unnerving conclusion.

What is the head to head?

These two have only played each other once.

That was the case at the 2002 World Cup, when Korea won Group D 1-0.

Korea coach Paulo Bento represented Portugal in that game.

opportunities

South Korea 10/3

Portugal 3/4

Draw 3/1

SunSport Prediction

Since Korea needs to win to progress, we expect goals in this game.

But Portugal will be eager for maximum points in the group and should only do so sneakily.

South Korea 1 Portugal 2