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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Dominic Booth

South Korea 2-1 Portugal: Stunning comeback seals World Cup last-16 spot as Hwang-hee Chan strikes at death

South Korea clutched a World Cup last 16 spot from the jaws of elimination, as a stoppage time Hwang Hee-Chan goal sealed a dramatic 2-1 win over Portugal.

With Uruguay only beating Ghana 2-0, and the two teams locked on four points apiece with the same goal difference, South Korea went through on goals scored, amid more late drama in Qatar.

Paulo Bento's side battled back from a goal down at Education City Stadium, following Ricardo Horta's sixth-minute strike. Kim Young-Gwon scored from a corner to level, before the late intervention from Wolves forward Hwang to clunch a place in the knockout stages.

Portugal qualify as group winners with six points and, as such, look set to avoid a last-16 tie against Brazil.

Manchester United's Diogo Dalot was one of six players brought into the side by Portugal boss Fernando Santos and he repaid his manager's faith inside six minutes with a fine run and cut-back for goalscorer Horta.

It was a memorable moment for the forward too, who made his debut way back in 2014 and had to wait nearly eight years for his second cap – which came when he was recalled earlier this year.

Kim then swept home after some calamitous Portugal defending from a set piece, with the ball ricocheting off Cristiano Ronaldo to allow the Korean defender to level.

South Korea knew a win, coupled with a Uruguay victory over Ghana – by the right margin – would see them qualify for the last-16.

But an oddly tepid second-half display meant the goal was eluding them. They appeared to be going home, until Heung-min Son led a rapid 91st-minute counter-attack and fed Hwang to slot home the winner.

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