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| Korea's Son Heung-min and Uruguay's Martin Caceres compete for the ball during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group H match at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar on Nov. 24. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
By John Duerden
Korea started its 10th successive World Cup with a 0-0 tie against Uruguay on Thursday at the Education City Stadium in Qatar.
After stunning wins earlier in the week by Asian rivals Saudi Arabia, over Argentina, and Japan, over Germany, there was some pressure on Korea to do something similar. This may not have been quite as spectacular, but it was a solid performance and decent result with tests to come against Ghana and Portugal. It was a hard-fought game against the two-time champion and means that there is all still to play for in Group H.
The talk before the game was all about Son Heung-min, but it was no surprise to learn that the captain was starting, instantly recognizable with his black mask, designed to protect after suffering a facial fracture earlier this month while in European action for Tottenham Hotspur.
Korea started its World Cup action brightly, looking to get behind the Uruguay backline, and the team was the livelier of the two in the first half of the first half. And while Paulo Bento had his team well organized, the players also wanted to get forward. Instead, they went toe to toe with a physically strong and talented team. Yet it was Uruguay who had the better early chances. After 18 minutes, the impressive Real Madrid midfielder Frederico Valverde shot just over and shortly after Darwin Nunez of Liverpool could not quite connect when presented with a good opportunity. It signaled a period of South American supremacy.
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| Korea's Hwang Ui-jo, left, misses a chance to score during the World Cup group H soccer match between Uruguay and Korea, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, Thursday, Nov. 24. AP-Yonhap |
As Uruguay came out more, it gave the likes of Son more space to run into, and after 26 minutes, the Spurs star was skipping past challenges only for his cross to be headed clear.
The one concern was that no clear chances created by that all changed after 33 minutes when Hwang Ui-jo missed a glorious opportunity. The Olympiacos striker was standing unmarked just outside the six-yard box when he was found by Kim Moon-hwan. With the goal at his mercy, Hwang leaned back and then shot over to the disbelief of the considerable red-shirted contingent in the stadium. That signaled another shift in momentum as Korea moved back onto the front foot, pushing back Uruguay, ranked 14 places above the Asian team at 14.
Then Uruguay almost took the lead as Diego Godin headed a corner against the foot of Korea's right-hand post with goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu nowhere near. At the end of the first half though, Bento would have been satisfied with an energetic and tidy display though there may have been a nagging feeling that Hwang's miss could come back to haunt the team.
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| Korea's Kim Moon-hwan, right, duels for the ball with Uruguay's Darwin Nunez, center, and Uruguay's Mathias Olivera during the World Cup group H soccer match between Uruguay and Korea, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, Thursday, Nov. 24. AP-Yonhap |
The second half started in similar fashion with Korea trying to get forward and there were claims for a penalty for a push on Kim Jin-su. At the hour mark, the Asian team had been the better of the two and Uruguay was looking frustrated though clear chances were few and far between. For the next 10 minutes, the men in blue had much more possession but were unable to find a way through the well-drilled defense that barely put a foot wrong.
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| Korea's Kim Jin-su, right, duels for the ball with Uruguay's Facundo Pellistri during the World Cup group H soccer match between Uruguay and Korea, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, Thursday, Nov. 24. AP-Yonhap |
As the game entered its final 15 minutes, there was a sense that one goal would be enough but also that 0-0 would be satisfactory with other tests to come. Substitute striker Cho Gue-song shot just wide after coming on and then Edinson Canavi did the same.
The game looked to be petering out, but in the final minute, Valverde hit the post with a fierce strike from outside the area. Moments later, Son had a chance to win the game too, shooting wide. It summed the game up as while the defenses worked well, there was just a little bit of quality lacking in the attack of both teams.
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