Football Soccer – Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup – Group H – Uruguay v Korea – Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar – November 24, 2022 Son Heung-min of South Korea celebrates cheering fans after the REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo . match
AL RAYYAN, Qatar – Uruguay faltered in their World Cup opener against a vibrant and energetic South Korea after they were held to a 0-0 draw on Thursday in a match both teams struggled. to find a clinical advantage despite the wide range of quality products on display.
Chances were clearly rare for both sides in the Group H clash at the Education City Stadium and although Uruguay created more chances, neither team hit the mark.
Uruguay’s captain Diego Godin was denied by the wooden frame while South Korea’s Hwang Ui-jo shot over the bar to his mercy, causing both teams to miss their chances against opponents. Teammates Portugal and Ghana meet later on Thursday.
There were only a few hundred Korean fans in attendance but they made enough noise to drown out Al Rayyan and chant throughout the competition, their drum beats matching the fast and frenetic pace of the match.
South Korea coach Paulo Bento told reporters: “We are a very brave team, we are not afraid of our opponents.
“The bottom line is that we need to control every moment of the game, knowing we are in a different league than our qualifiers. But this will not keep us from what we intend to do. And today we showed we are capable.”
Uruguay’s first goal came in the 19th minute from Federico Valverde, who connected a pass from Jose Maria Gimenez and touched the ball before volleying a volley towards goal, but the effort was ambitious. he went over the crossbar again.
The South Americans were starting to find their footing as South Korea, having been patient in control of the first half so far, broke their rhythm and staged a counterattack from a Uruguayan corner before the first half ended. end.
Son Heung-min received the ball on the left and cut in, past two Uruguay defenders before firing with his right foot into the goal, but left-back Mathias Olivera saved it.
Hwang misses
South Korea should have taken the lead in the 34th minute when Moon-hwan Kim passed the ball into the box and passed it to Hwang in front of goal, but the striker couldn’t keep his cool and sent the ball over the crossbar.
Hwang’s teammates fell to their knees after his miss and they nearly paid the price just before half-time when centre-back Godin went high to score a header from Valverde’s corner but the ball went wide of the post. left and went wide of the goal.
Gimenez made a crucial tackle to deny Son five minutes after restarting after a smooth move from South Korea, while Jung Woo-young saved midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur’s powerful shot in the other end.
Uruguay held the ball more and appeared dangerous as the game went on but had few chances to penetrate Korea’s organized defence. Striker Darwin Nunez was a threat on the counter with his pace but endured a nasty afternoon.
Uruguayan coach Diego Alonso swapped one resilient player for another when he replaced Luis Suarez with Edinson Cavani in the 64th minute and the striker performed so vividly, almost connecting with Nunez’s shot goes wide of the post.
Valverde unleashed a thunderous shot at the last minute of regulation, hitting the post and Son had a last chance in the closing period but his shot missed the post.
Uruguay has only won their opening match in one of their last seven World Cups, drawing and losing three each but still made it past the group stage in five of those tournaments and have a record of going deep in the tournament.
They reached the semi-finals in 2010 and reached the quarter-finals four years ago in Russia, having won all three of their group stage matches without conceding a goal.
Thursday’s results leave Group H open to both teams ahead of their second match on Monday, with Uruguay facing Portugal and South Korea facing Ghana.
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