Match report: South Korea 2-3 Ghana
Group H: Ghana’s task is now clear: bury the ghosts of Soccer City and reach the knockout stage,” writes Nick Ames from Education City Stadium. “Victory over Uruguay, who defeated them so heartbreakingly on that climactic night in 2010, would complete the job and on present form drama seems a given.”
More correspondence: “The World Cup embraced chaos today,” writes Shiladitya Pandit. “Unhinged. Crazy. Stupid. Breathtaking. And I hate every second of it.”
An email: “Bento has already made two impactful substitutions,” writes Peter Oh. “I hope he does Korea right by further exploring his Squid, er Squad Game.”
It’s a terrific win for Ghana. An absolutely thrilling game, the second of the day, draws to a close and Ghana’s players are beside themselves with delight. The players of South Korea are devastated and the camera cuts to the stands where many of their fans are in tears. Their manager Paulo Bento has been shown a red card for his part in the post-final whistle protests.
His side are bottom of the group with just one point from two games and will have to beat Portugal in their final game to have any chance of going through. Ghana go second, behind the Portuguese, with three points with a final group game against Uruguay ahoy. The South American side take on Cristiano Ronaldo and chums in this evening’s final game.
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Full time: South Korea 2-3 Ghana
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeep! The ball goes out for another South Korea corner but Anthony Taylor blows for full time before they can take it. He’s immediately surrounded by irate South Koreans, all of them apparently oblivious to the fact that the 12 corners they’ve already taken have been truly dreadful.
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90+11 min: Lee Kang-in shoots from distance but his effort is high and wide.
90+10 min: South Korea win a corner, their 12th of the game. Salisu thumps the inswinger clear with a meaty header.
90+9 min: The ball’s crossed towards Kim Jun-su at the far post but he’s outmuscled and Ghana clear.
90+8 min: South Korea continue to press for an equaliser but the Ghanaian rearguard remains stout … for now. Can they hang in there for another minute or so?
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90+6 min: South Korea get it launched into the Ghana box twice in quick succession but are unable to get anybody on the end of the deliveries. Another cross comes in from the right and Cho flings himself through a gap between two defenders attempting to head home from close range. He’s penalised for a foul.
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90+5 min: On a hat-trick, Cho shoots with venom from a tight angle when he should have squared the ball. Lawrence Ati-Zigi parries with both hands at his near post.
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90+4 min: Son has an attempted cross blocked by Denis Odoi. It’s a corner, which Ghana clear.
90+3 min: We’re almost a third of the way through 10 minutes of added time.
90+2 min: South Korea substitution: Kim Min-jae off, Kwon on.
90+1 min: Son has a goalbound shot blocked and a Ghanaian defender throws himself in front of the follow-up.
90 min: Baba Rahman heads a South Korea cross from the right out for a corner. The dead ball is sent to the near post, where attackers are conspicuous by their absence. Ghana clear.
89 min: Into the knockings we go but one imagines there’ll be plenty of added time given all the subsitutions, goal celebrations and a couple of significant breaks in play for treatment to injured players.
87 min: There’s a lengthy break in play as Gideon Mensah receives treatment for cramp. He’s helped off the pitch and replaced by Baba Rahman.
86 min: Kim Jun-su leaps at the far post to connect with a cross from the right but is unable to steer his header on target under pressure from a couple of Ghanaian markers. Wide.
83 min: Chance! Not for the first time in recent minutes, South Korea left-back Kim Jun-su misses a decent scoring opportunity, shooting high over the bar when he had plenty of goal to aim at.
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81 min: Muhammed Kudus off, Alexander Djiku on. Ghana switch to a back five.
79 min: South Korean substitue: Hwang Ui-jo on, Jung Woo-young off.
79 min: Ghana triple-substitution: Daniel-Kofi Kyerah, Kamal Deen-Sulemana andf Denis Odoi on, Tariq Lamptey and the Ayew brothers off.
78 min: Ghana have a decent penalty shout turned down for a Kim Young-gwon foul on Inaki Williams. The South Korea defender swung his boot and got plenty of shin but no ball and might consider himself lucky. I’ve seen them given for less, as the fella says.
77 min: Oof! Kim Jun-su has a good shooting opportunity but the left-back elects for precision over power and has his sidefooted effort cleared off the line by Mohammed Salisu.
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75 min: Ghana form their defensive wall and a couple of South Koreans kneel in front of it. Lee Kang-in’s free-kick is terrific, a dipping effort that threatens to sneak in the bottom right-hand corner but Lawrence Ati-ZIgi is on hand to claw the ball out for a corner.
73 min: Tariq Lamptey is booked for taking out Son as the South Korea striker threatened to get past him and into a good shooting position. Free-kick for South Korea, about thirty yards from the Ghana goal, a little right of centre.
70 min: Following Cameroon’s draw with Serbia we have our second thriller of the day featuring an African team. A low ball was crossed into the South Korea penalty area and Inaki Williams shaped to shoot only to miss the ball completely with an air-shot. On it trundled into the path of Muhammed Kudus, who sidefooted a low effort into the corner.
GOAL! South Korea 2-3 Ghana (Kudus 68)
Ghana retake the lead! Muhammed Kudus sweeps home his second of the game, firing a low diagonal shot past Kim into the bottom corner.
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67 min: “I do enjoy how much more animated Dion Dublin gets about a No9 scoring a header than he does about anything else in football,” writes Nath Jones. Yup, Dion is on BBC co-comms for this game and has been very animated for the past few minutes. As anyone who watches H|omes Under The Hammer will know, the only thing that gets him more excited than No9s scoring headers are houses with “stairs up to the bedroom”.
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64 min: There’s been a break in play so Hwang In-beom can receive treatment for a head wound. He’s spilling claret and goes to the touchline for a few staples or stitches. His team soldier on with 10 men for the time being.
62 min: That’s an astonishing comeback from South Korea, who score two goals in three minutes, with both coming from Cho Gue-sung headers to convert crosses from the left. Ghana were powerless to stop his second, as he got the run on Moahmmed Salisu and Gideon Mensah, who could only look on helplessly as he outjumped them.
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GOAL! South Korea 2-2 Ghana (Cho 60)
South Korea draw level! Cho heads home from the edge of the six yard box again, leaping highest to convert Kim Jun-su’s cross from the byline.
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60 min: An inspired bit of touchline management from Paulo Bento, whose decision to send on Lee pays immediate dividends. The substitute picks Tariq Lamptey’s pocket out on the left touchline and sends in a terrific cross. Jo was on hand to score with a header from the edge of the six-yard box.
GOAL! South Korea 1-2 Ghana (Cho 57)
South Korea pull one back. Cho Gue-sung heads home from a Lee Kang-in cross from the left mere seconds after the substitute had taken to the pitch.
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56 min: South Korea substitution: Lee Kang-in comes on for Kwon Chang-hoon.
54 min: Andre Ayew canters down the inside left and tries to play a ball inside to Inaki Williams. It’s intercepted by Kim Jun-su, who puts the ball out for a corner. Jordan Ayew’s delivery is put out for a corner by Jung Woo-young, who comes perilously close to flicking his near post defensive header past his own goalkeeper. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
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52 min: Kim Jun-su sends an excellent cross into the Ghana box and picks out Cho Gue-sung, whose firm header is saved theatrically by Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi. That’s South Korea’s first shot on target in this tournament but the goalie saved fairly comfortably.
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50 min: Tariq Lamptey wriggles inside Son and Jo before slicing a left-footed shot high and wide of the South Korea goal.
47 min: South Korea right-back Kim Moon-hwan receives a pass out on the right touchline. Having started brightly, he spent the second half of the opening half pinned back by Jordan Ayew. He gets a cross in but his unable to pick out his fellow full-back Kim Jun-su.
Second half: South Korea 0-2 Ghana
46 min: Ghana get the ball rolling for the second half. SOuth Korea have made a half-tiome substitution with Na Sangho replacing Jeong Woo-yeong.
Son’s terrible corner kicks. “He’s really been struggling with these, not been able to produce a decent corner in ages,” writes Richard Prasad. “None of the ones he’s taken today barely reached the near end of the six-yard box. But it’s been that way for a while - with Tottenham and in the warmup match against Cameroon in Seoul in September. Yet in that time he’s done pretty well with free kicks. I think that Kang-in Lee takes corners, etc for his team in Spain, but doesn’t get any with the national team for some reason.” The reason today possibly being that he is currently on the bench.
Ghana’s first goal. Some clarification: While there is no doubt the ball hit Andre Ayew’s arm on its way into the South Korea penalty area, the goal stood because it was not him who scored it. If he had turned the ball home it would almost certainly have been disallowed.
Half-time musings: It’s been an entertaining, if slightly odd game. Ghana were seriously under the cosh for the first 23 minutes, conceding corner after corner after corner, all of which were wasted by South Korea.
Their opener came against the run of play and courtesy of an excellent dead ball delivery into the South Korea penalty area which was eventually converted by Mohammed Salisu. A whipped Ayew cross 10 minutes later needed only the faintest of touches from Mohammed Kudus to double the African side’s lead.
Half-time: South Korea 0-2 Ghana
Peep! The teams troupe off for their half-time refreshments, with Ghana two goals to the good. Jordan Ayew provided the assists for both, his crosses into the South Korea penalty area being converted by Mohammed Salisu and Mohammed Kudus.
45+5 min: Ghana win a corner and Jordan Ayew’s delivery is outstanding this time. The inswinging ball threatens to drop under the cross-bar but is put over by a combination of Kim Seung-gyu’s glove and Thomas Partey’s shoulder.
45+4 min: South Korea right-back Kim Moon-hwan plays a give-and-go on the outskirts of the Ghana penalty area but is dispossessed by a well-timed Gideon Mensah challenge.
45+2 min: We’re into five minutes of added time and Ghana have their first corner of the game. Jordan Ayew, already the assist-provider for both his team’s goals, channels his inner Son Heung-min and fails to clear the first defender, who heads away at the near post.
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45+1: Hwang In-beom eschews an opportunity to pass to Son Heung-min in a decent position and elects instead to curl a shot from distance high and wide of the Ghana goal. A clearly exasperated Son is not best pleased.
43 min: Son runs to the byline from a deep position but is crowded off the ball by a posse of retreating Ghanaians including Lamptey and Kudus. Throw-in for South Korea, deep in Ghana territory. Nothing comes of it.
41 min: Kwon Chang-hoon overhits a pass into the pocket of space down by the corner flag and the ball bounces harmlessly out of play. Elsewhere, Jung Woo-young goes to ground feeling his jaw gingerly after a collision with one of his own teammates.
40 min: “You are being biased don’t comment with a forked tongue comment like a true commentator,” writes Abdur, without further elaboration.
38 min: Having roared out of the traps in this game and put Ghana under the most intense pressure, South Korea have really wilted. They do, however, get a shot off here at the end of an attack, Son shooting over the bar. Had his effort gone under it, the goal would not have stood as there was a very late flag for an offside earlier in the build-up.
36 min: “Are you positive that the picture you posted of the referee is actually a picture of Anthony Taylor?” asks JR in Illinois. “It really does not look at all like Anthony Taylor to me. It looks like a picture of Szymon Marciniak. #notallbaldrefereeslookalike.” Hmmm … I think you might be right, JR. Apologies, Anthony. And to you too, Szymon.
GOAL! South Korea 0-2 Ghan (Kudus 34)
Crikey! Ghana double their lead. Jordan Ayew whips a delightful cross from the left into the South Korea penalty area and Mohammed Kudus gets the faintest of touches with his forehead on the edge of the six-yard box. Goal!
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32 min: Inaki Williams controls a ball from deep with a great take-down on the right side of the Ghana penalty area. With Andre Ayew screaming for a cross, WIlliams tries to go it alone and ends up fouling a defender, conceding a cheap free-kick in the progress.
30 min: It’s worth noting that Ghanas’s goal came completely against the run of play but it seems to have left South Korea a bit shell-shocked. Ghana have visibly grown in confidence since opeing the scoring.
28 min: Hats off to Jordan Ayew, whose delivery from that free-kick was outstanding. He droppped the ball right into the edge of the South Korea six-yard box and the Asian side simply couldn’t clear it.
The goal stands! I’m surprised by that decision, I have to say. Without checking his pitchside monitor, Anthony Taylor relies on the word of his VAR Tomasz Kwiatkowski and Ghana embark on a second celebration.
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There’s a VAR check. The ball appears to have hit Andre Ayew’s hand as it dropped into the penalty area. I think this is going to be disallowed.
GOAL! South Korea 0-1 Ghana (Salisu 24)
Ghana lead! Jordan Ayew and Muhammed Kudus stand over the free-kick. Kudus dummies and Ayew swings the ball into the box, where South Korea fail to clear and Salisu pokes home in the ensuing scramble.
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23 min: Ghana finally enjoy some time on the ball and win a free-kick wide on the left when Jordan Ayew is fouled by Hwang In-beom.
20 min: Anthony Taylor blows up play and has his attention drawn by his video assistant referee to an off the ball incident starring Daniel Amartey, who gets booked for swinging an arm across Cho Gue-sung and catching him in the face.
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17 min: South Korea win their sixth corner of the game on the back of good work down the left wing by Kwon Chang-hoon. Son’s delivery to the near post is aimed at Cho Gue-sung and goes out for another corner. This one is cleared at the near post by Gideon Mensah. Son keeps aiming for that near post with his corner kicks but it’s not doing South Korea much good.
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16 min: Inaki Williams tries to run on to a weighted pass in behind the South Korea defence but it’s overhit by Jordan Ayew. South Korea goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu gets a rare touch of the ball as he scrambles out of his goal to collect.
13 min: Jeong Woo-yeong is penalised for a shove on a rival as Ghana embark on a counter-attack and gets a look of reproach from Anthony Taylor. “Up with that kind of behaviour I will not put,” the English ref seems to be saying. “I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed.”
12 min: Relentless pressure from South Korea, who win another corner. Once again, Son’s delivery leaves a lot to be desired. Tariq Lamptey clears from his position as first defender.
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11 min: Son wins a corner under pressure from Thomas Partey. He swings the ball into the mixer but the delivery is poor. Mohammed Salisu clears at the near post.
9 min: South Korea keep applying the pressure. Their right-back Kim Moon-hwan motors down his wing but overhits a cross and puts the ball out for a goal-kick.
8 min: Hwang In-beom’s corner kick is cleared at the near post.
7 min: Jeong takes a touch then has a shot from about 20 yards deflected out for a corner. Ghana half-clear but the ball comes back into their penalty area. South Korea win another corner on the back of an overlapping run from their centre-half Kim Min-Jae.
6 min: South Korea win a free-kick wide on the left for a Tariq Lamptey foul on Son. The ball is played square and then into the penalty area, where Andre Ayew puts it out for a corner.
4 min: Ghana free-kick, wide on the right. Mohammed Kudus sends the ball into the penalty area, it’s cleared and South Korea break upfield in numbers and at great speed. Cho Gue-sung and Kim Jun-su combine to get gets the ball into the box but Ghana clear.
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2 min: Ghana attempt to play the ball out from the back but are immediately find themselves in the face of an intense South Korean press. Son Heung-min, the South Korean captain, is still wearing his protective face mask, a Zorro-esque legacy of the facial injury he suffered in the build-up to the tournament.
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South Korea v Ghana is go ...
1 min: Jeong Woo-yeong gets the ball rolling for South Korea, their players wearing red shirts, shorts and socks. The players of Ghana wear all white.
Not long now: Referee Anthony Taylor and his assistants lead out the teams, who line up either side of the match officials for the national anthems. Kick-off is just five minutes and the last of the pre-match formalities away.
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Those teams: Kim Min-jae starts for South Korea despite concerns about his fitness, meaning Paulo Bento’s back five of Kim, Kim, Kim, Kim and Kim remains intact. The Portuguese manager does make three changes further up the field, with Lee Jae-sing, Na Sang-ho and Hwan Ui-jo making way for Cho Gue-sung, Kwon Chang-hoon and Jeong Woo-keong.
Ghana manager Otto Adda also makes three changes in a state of affairs that suggests he’s switching to a back four. Tariq Lamptey, Gideon Mensah and Jordan Ayew all come into his starting line-up, with Baba Rahman, Alexander Djiku and Alidu Seidu dropping to the bench.
South Korea v Ghana line-ups
Ghana: Lawrence Ati-Zigi, Tariq Lamptey, Daniel Amartey, Mohammed Salisu, Gideon Mensah, Thomas Partey, Salis Abdul Samed, Mohammed Kudus, Andre Ayew, Jordan Ayew, Inaki Williams.
South Korea: Kim Seung-gyu, Kim Moon-hwan, Kim Min-jae, Kim Young-gwon, Kim Jin-su, Jung Woo-young, Kwon Chang-hoon, Jeong Woo-yeong, Hwang In-beom, Son Heung-min, Cho Gue-sung.
Today’s match officials
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Referee’s assistants: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn
Fourth official: Kevin Ortega
VAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski
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Otto Addo speaks: “First of all, surely, we have a chance [of qualifying] especially since they [Uruguay and South Korea] played a draw,” said Ghana’s manager yesterday. “So, if we win against South Korea and Portugal win, hopefully, against Uruguay, then we will be second, so the chance is still big. And surely it will be very, very tough to beat South Korea because they are good. But now, we have to win. We are under pressure, but they are too.”
Paulo Bento speaks: “I don’t feel any pressure whatsoever,” said the South Korea manager yesterday. “I would love the players to feel the way I do, but I know they come from a different culture. We will have a difficult game but we are able to do well. We have great and utmost respect for a great team in Ghana and the players who compete at a very high level.
“For our strategy, we have to try to be ourselves. We are very well aware of the skills and how good Ghana are, this will be a match where in some moments we will have the capacity to control the game. They have skilled players from a technical standpoint and they are also very quick in attack. We want to control the game, and also the moments when they are in attack.”
Early team news
South Korea manager Paulo Bento is without Hwang Hee-chan for today’s encounter, the Wolves striker sidelined with a hamstring injury. Napoili centre-back Kim Min-jae is also rated a doubtful starter as he is reported to be struggling with a calf injury. Ghana boss Otto Addo has a full squad of 26 players to choose from.
Group H: South Korea v Ghana
The Education City Stadium is the venue for today’s match between South Korea and Ghana, with the African side in dire need of some polints after losing 3-2 Portugal in their opener. Regardless of what happens in this evening’s other Group H match between Portugal and Uruguay, the Black Stars will be out if they lose today.
With one point on the board following their somewhat fortuitous scoreless draw against Uruguay, a match in which they failed to register a single shot on target, South Korea will be hoping for a win that would ramp up the pressure on Uruguay and Portugal ahead of their match later on. Kick-off at the Education City Stadium is at 1pm (GMT) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
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