G'day tribe. Yesterday I continued Group H with Portugal after starting with Ghana. Today is Uruguay's turn on our way to reviewing 32 teams in 32 days! This is the Ultimate FIFA World Cup review guide!
Group F - Canada | Croatia | Morocco | Belgium
Group H - Ghana | Portugal | Uruguay |
Country: South Korea
Nickname: Taegeuk Warriors
Last World Cup Appearance: 2018 (Group Stages)
Previous World Cup Appearances: 10 (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018)
World Rank: #29
Star Players: Heung-min Son, Hee-chan Hwang
Asian giants South Korea will be playing in their 10th World Cup in a row. South Korea easily qualified for the World Cup through the AFC and finished second in their group behind Iran. Their only hiccup was a loss to third place United Arab Emirates in the final game, however they had qualified well before the loss.
Back in June, South Korea were trounced by Brazil 5-1 in a pre-World Cup friendly match and it's evidence that they're well behind the elite teams in the world.
South Korea have a not so secret weapon in Tottenham superstar Heung-min Son and on any given day he could be the difference maker. Wolves and former RB Leipzig striker Hee-chan Hwang has the potential to score goals and if Korea are to have any chance of progressing they'll need him to score.
Can the South Koreans shock the World and make the semi-finals like they did in 2002?
World Cup Group: Group H - Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
Prediction: Let's not forget what South Korea are capable of. They stunned defending World Cup champions Germany in 2018 by winning 2-nil and knocking them out of the World Cup.
Aside from the obvious Premier League stars in Heung-min Son and Hee-chan Hwang, Korea will rely heavily on Bundesliga young forward Woo-Yeong Jeong and Olympiacos' In-Beom Hwang to provide a youthful attacking force and to try and outplay their opponents.
A win against Ghana is a must if South Korea wants to progress. A match-up between Heung-min Son and Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the highlights of Group H and it could be a battle that dictates who makes it to the next round.
Most of South Korea's squad is locally based however and on paper at least, it's hard seeing South Korea progress out of the group stages. They won't be an easy pushover, but Portugal and Uruguay should outclass South Korea at the first hurdle.
Group Stage