2014 FIFA World Cup Group H

Group H of the 2014 FIFA World Cup consisted of Belgium, Algeria, Russia and South Korea. Play began on 17 June and ended on 26 June 2014. The top two teams, Belgium and Algeria, advanced to the round of 16.

Teams

Draw position	Team	Confederation	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Finals appearance	Last appearance	Previous best performance	FIFA Rankings
								October 2013 [nb 1]	June 2014
H1 (seed)	Belgium	UEFA	UEFA Group A winners	11 October 2013	12th	2002	Fourth place (1986)	5	11
H2	Algeria	CAF	CAF third round winners	19 November 2013	4th	2010	Group stage (1982, 1986, 2010)	32	22
H3	Russia	UEFA	UEFA Group F winners	15 October 2013	10th [nb 2]	2002	Fourth place (1966) [nb 3]	19	19
H4	South Korea	AFC	AFC fourth round Group A 2nd runners-up	18 June 2013	9th	2010	Fourth place (2002)	56	57

Notes

1. The rankings of October 2013 were used for seeding for the final draw.
2. This is Russia's third appearance as an independent nation at the FIFA World Cup; however, FIFA considers Russia as the successor to the Soviet Union, who qualified for the World Cup seven times.
3. Russia's best result is group stage in 1994 and 2002. However, FIFA considers Russia as the successor team of the Soviet Union.

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Belgium	3	3	0	0	4	1	+3	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	Algeria	3	1	1	1	6	5	+1	4
3	Russia	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	2
4	South Korea	3	0	1	2	3	6	−3	1

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria

• Belgium advanced to play the United States (the runners-up of Group G) in the round of 16.
• Algeria advanced to play Germany (the winners of Group G) in the round of 16.

Matches

Belgium vs Algeria

The two teams had met in two previous matches, both friendlies, most recently in 2003, won 3–1 by Belgium. ^[1]

Algeria took a one-goal lead in the first half after Sofiane Feghouli converted a penalty kick, awarded for a foul on him by Jan Vertonghen. Belgium came back with two goals in the second half, both scored by substitutes. ^[2] The equaliser was scored by Marouane Fellaini, heading in a cross from the left by Kevin De Bruyne, followed by the game winner scored by Dries Mertens from a pass by Eden Hazard. ^[3]

Feghouli's goal snapped Algeria's 506-minute World Cup scoreless streak stretching back to 1986, second place at the time to the record of 517 minutes between 1930 and 1990 held by Bolivia. ^[4]

17 June 2014

13:00 BRT (UTC−3)

Belgium	2–1	Algeria
Fellaini 70' Mertens 80'	Report	Feghouli 25' (pen.)

Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte

Attendance: 56,800

Referee: Marco Rodríguez (Mexico)

Belgium

Algeria

GK 1 Thibaut Courtois RB 2 Toby Alderweireld CB 15 Daniel Van Buyten CB 4 Vincent Kompany (c) LB 5 Jan Vertonghen  24' CM 6 Axel Witsel CM 19 Moussa Dembélé  65' RW 22 Nacer Chadli  46' AM 7 Kevin De Bruyne LW 10 Eden Hazard CF 9 Romelu Lukaku  58' Substitutions: FW 14 Dries Mertens  46' FW 17 Divock Origi  58' MF 8 Marouane Fellaini  65' Manager: Marc Wilmots

GK 23 Raïs M'Bolhi RB 22 Mehdi Mostefa CB 2 Madjid Bougherra (c) CB 5 Rafik Halliche LB 3 Faouzi Ghoulam RM 19 Saphir Taïder CM 12 Carl Medjani  84' LM 14 Nabil Bentaleb  34' AM 10 Sofiane Feghouli AM 21 Riyad Mahrez  71' CF 15 Hillal Soudani  66' Substitutions: FW 13 Islam Slimani  66' MF 8 Mehdi Lacen  71' FW 9 Nabil Ghilas  84' Manager: Vahid Halilhodžić

Man of the Match: Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium) Assistant referees: Marvin Torrentera (Mexico) Marcos Quintero (Mexico) Fourth official: Alireza Faghani (Iran) Fifth official: Hassan Kamranifar (Iran)

Russia vs South Korea

The two teams had met in one previous match, in a friendly in 2013. ^[5]

After a goalless first half, the two teams traded goals by substitutes in the second half as the match finished 1–1. First, Han Kook-young passed to Lee Keun-ho, and his long range shot was spilled by Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev into the net. ^[6] Russia equalised after Alan Dzagoev's shot was parried by South Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong, the clearance hit Andrey Yeshchenko, and Aleksandr Kerzhakov scored from close range. ^[7]

17 June 2014

18:00 AMT (UTC−4)

Russia	1–1	South Korea
Kerzhakov 74'	Report	Lee Keun-ho 68'

Arena Pantanal, Cuiabá

Attendance: 37,603

Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)

Russia

South Korea

GK 1 Igor Akinfeev RB 22 Andrey Yeshchenko CB 4 Sergei Ignashevich CB 14 Vasili Berezutski (c) LB 23 Dmitri Kombarov DM 8 Denis Glushakov  72' CM 20 Viktor Fayzulin CM 18 Yuri Zhirkov  71' RW 19 Aleksandr Samedov LW 17 Oleg Shatov  49'  59' CF 9 Aleksandr Kokorin Substitutions: MF 10 Alan Dzagoev  59' FW 11 Aleksandr Kerzhakov  71' MF 7 Igor Denisov  72' Manager: Fabio Capello

GK 1 Jung Sung-ryong RB 12 Lee Yong CB 5 Kim Young-gwon CB 20 Hong Jeong-ho  73' LB 3 Yun Suk-young CM 16 Ki Sung-yueng  30' CM 14 Han Kook-young RW 17 Lee Chung-yong AM 13 Koo Ja-cheol (c)  90' LW 9 Son Heung-min  13'  84' CF 10 Park Chu-young  56' Substitutions: FW 11 Lee Keun-ho  56' DF 6 Hwang Seok-ho  73' MF 7 Kim Bo-kyung  84' Manager: Hong Myung-bo

Man of the Match: Son Heung-min (South Korea) Assistant referees: Hernán Maidana (Argentina) Juan Pablo Belatti (Argentina) Fourth official: Roberto Moreno (Panama) Fifth official: Eric Boria (United States)

Belgium vs Russia

The two teams had met in eight previous matches (including matches involving the Soviet Union), including four in the FIFA World Cup (1970, group stage: Belgium 1–4 Soviet Union; 1982, second group stage: Belgium 0–1 Soviet Union; 1986, round of 16: Belgium 4–3 (aet) Soviet Union; 2002, group stage: Belgium 3–2 Russia). ^[8]

Aleksandr Kokorin had Russia's best chance in the first half, heading wide from six yards. Late in the second half, Belgian substitute Kevin Mirallas hit the post with his free kick, but Belgium did find the game-winner through another substitute, Divock Origi scoring from 8 yards out after Eden Hazard's cut-back from the left. This victory sent Belgium into the knockout stage. ^{[9] [10]}

22 June 2014

13:00 BRT (UTC−3)

Belgium	1–0	Russia
Origi 88'	Report

Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro

Attendance: 73,819

Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

Belgium

Russia

GK 1 Thibaut Courtois RB 2 Toby Alderweireld  73' CB 15 Daniel Van Buyten CB 4 Vincent Kompany (c) LB 3 Thomas Vermaelen  31' CM 6 Axel Witsel  54' CM 8 Marouane Fellaini RW 14 Dries Mertens  75' AM 7 Kevin De Bruyne LW 10 Eden Hazard CF 9 Romelu Lukaku  57' Substitutions: DF 5 Jan Vertonghen  31' FW 17 Divock Origi  57' MF 11 Kevin Mirallas  75' Manager: Marc Wilmots

GK 1 Igor Akinfeev RB 2 Aleksei Kozlov  62' CB 14 Vasili Berezutski (c) CB 4 Sergei Ignashevich LB 23 Dmitri Kombarov DM 8 Denis Glushakov  38' CM 20 Viktor Fayzulin RW 19 Aleksandr Samedov  90' AM 6 Maksim Kanunnikov LW 17 Oleg Shatov  83' CF 9 Aleksandr Kokorin Substitutions: DF 22 Andrey Yeshchenko  62' MF 10 Alan Dzagoev  83' FW 11 Aleksandr Kerzhakov  90' Manager: Fabio Capello

Man of the Match: Eden Hazard (Belgium) Assistant referees: Mark Borsch (Germany) Stefan Lupp (Germany) Fourth official: Carlos Vera (Ecuador) Fifth official: Byron Romero (Ecuador)

South Korea vs Algeria

The two teams had met in two previous matches, both in friendlies both in 1985. ^[11]

Algeria, who needed at least a point to stay alive in the competition, scored three goals in the first half to take a comfortable lead. First, Islam Slimani sped past two South Korean defenders to receive Carl Medjani's long pass and slot home with his left foot past the advancing goalkeeper. Two minutes later, Rafik Halliche headed in Abdelmoumene Djabou's corner from the left. Djabou scored himself later after he received a pass from Slimani, shooting low with his left foot from twelve yards out. ^[12] Early in the second half, Son Heung-min controlled a long pass from Ki Sung-yueng to shoot with his left foot between the goalkeeper's legs and reduce the deficit, but Yacine Brahimi restored Algeria's three-goal lead after a one-two with Sofiane Feghouli to side foot home from inside the penalty area with his right foot. Koo Ja-cheol scored South Korea's second goal after a pass from Lee Keun-ho from the left, but Algeria held on for its third ever World Cup victory, but its first since 24 June 1982. ^[13]

Algeria became the first African team to score four goals in a World Cup match. ^[14]

22 June 2014

16:00 BRT (UTC−3)

South Korea	2–4	Algeria
Son Heung-min 50' Koo Ja-cheol 72'	Report	Slimani 26' Halliche 28' Djabou 38' Brahimi 62'

Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre

Attendance: 42,732

Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)

South Korea

Algeria

GK 1 Jung Sung-ryong RB 12 Lee Yong  54' CB 20 Hong Jeong-ho CB 5 Kim Young-gwon LB 3 Yun Suk-young CM 14 Han Kook-young  69'  78' CM 16 Ki Sung-yueng RW 17 Lee Chung-yong  64' AM 13 Koo Ja-cheol (c) LW 9 Son Heung-min CF 10 Park Chu-young  57' Substitutions: FW 18 Kim Shin-wook  57' FW 11 Lee Keun-ho  64' FW 19 Ji Dong-won  78' Manager: Hong Myung-bo

GK 23 Raïs M'Bolhi CB 12 Carl Medjani CB 2 Madjid Bougherra (c)  67'  89' CB 5 Rafik Halliche RWB 20 Aïssa Mandi LWB 6 Djamel Mesbah CM 11 Yacine Brahimi  77' CM 18 Abdelmoumene Djabou  73' RW 10 Sofiane Feghouli LW 14 Nabil Bentaleb CF 13 Islam Slimani Substitutions: FW 9 Nabil Ghilas  73' MF 8 Mehdi Lacen  77' DF 4 Essaïd Belkalem  89' Manager: Vahid Halilhodžić

Man of the Match: Islam Slimani (Algeria) Assistant referees: Eduardo Díaz (Colombia) Christian Lescano (Ecuador) Fourth official: Alireza Faghani (Iran) Fifth official: Hassan Kamranifar (Iran)

South Korea vs Belgium

The two teams had met in three previous matches, including twice in the FIFA World Cup group stage (1990: South Korea 0–2 Belgium; 1998: South Korea 1–1 Belgium). ^[15]

Belgium, who had already qualified for the knockout stage and would win the group if either South Korea did not win this match, or Algeria didn't beat Russia in the other simultaneous match, had Steven Defour sent off for a reckless tackle on Kim Shin-wook at the end of the first half. Belgium scored the only goal of the match in the second half, when substitute Divock Origi's shot was parried by South Korea goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu and Jan Vertonghen converted the rebound with his left foot. ^[16]

Belgium's win ensured that they topped their group, while South Korea, who had to win by two goals to have any chance for qualification to the knockout stage, were eliminated. ^[17]

South Korea's elimination meant that all four Asian representatives finished bottom of their group with a combined record of zero wins, three draws and nine defeats, the worst showing by the Asian Football Confederation since the 1990 World Cup. ^[18]

26 June 2014

17:00 BRT (UTC−3)

South Korea	0–1	Belgium
	Report	Vertonghen 78'

Arena de São Paulo, São Paulo

Attendance: 61,397

Referee: Ben Williams (Australia)

South Korea

Belgium

GK 21 Kim Seung-gyu RB 12 Lee Yong CB 5 Kim Young-gwon CB 20 Hong Jeong-ho  35' LB 3 Yun Suk-young CM 14 Han Kook-young  46' CM 16 Ki Sung-yueng RW 17 Lee Chung-yong AM 13 Koo Ja-cheol (c) LW 9 Son Heung-min  73' CF 18 Kim Shin-wook  66' Substitutions: FW 11 Lee Keun-ho  46' MF 7 Kim Bo-kyung  66' FW 19 Ji Dong-won  73' Manager: Hong Myung-bo

GK 1 Thibaut Courtois RB 21 Anthony Vanden Borre CB 15 Daniel Van Buyten CB 18 Nicolas Lombaerts LB 5 Jan Vertonghen (c) CM 16 Steven Defour  45' CM 19 Moussa Dembélé  50' RW 14 Dries Mertens  60' AM 8 Marouane Fellaini LW 20 Adnan Januzaj  60' CF 11 Kevin Mirallas  88' Substitutions: MF 22 Nacer Chadli  60' FW 17 Divock Origi  60' MF 10 Eden Hazard  88' Manager: Marc Wilmots

Man of the Match: Jan Vertonghen (Belgium) Assistant referees: Matthew Cream (Australia) Hakan Anaz (Australia) Fourth official: Víctor Hugo Carrillo (Peru) Fifth official: Rodney Aquino (Paraguay)

Algeria vs Russia

Further information: List of 2014 FIFA World Cup controversies § Russia vs Algeria

The two teams had met in three previous matches (only involving matches during the time period of the Soviet Union). ^[19]

Aleksandr Kokorin opened the scoring for Russia, who had to win to have chance of qualifying for the knockout stage, in the 6th minute when he scored with a header after a cross from Dmitri Kombarov from the left. Algeria equalised in the 60th minute when Islam Slimani scored with a header at the back post after a free kick from the left by Yacine Brahimi was missed by Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev. Algeria held on for the draw, and as South Korea lost to Belgium in the other match played at the same time, Algeria finished as group runners-up and reached the second round for the first time in their history (after unsuccessful campaigns in 1982, 1986, and 2010), while Russia failed to advance out of the group stage in all three tournaments since the break-up of the Soviet Union. ^[20]

For Algeria's goal, television replays showed that Akinfeev had a green laser light shining in his face during the play. ^[21] After the match the Algerian Football Federation was fined 50,000 CHF by FIFA for the use of laser pointers, a prohibited item in the stadium according to FIFA Stadium Safety and Security Regulations, ^[22] and other violations of the rules by Algerian fans. ^[23]

With fellow African representative Nigeria also reaching the knockout stage earlier, this was the first time that there were two teams from the Confederation of African Football in the knockout stage of a World Cup. ^[24]

26 June 2014

17:00 BRT (UTC−3)

Algeria	1–1	Russia
Slimani 60'	Report	Kokorin 6'

Arena da Baixada, Curitiba

Attendance: 39,311

Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)

Algeria

Russia

GK 23 Raïs M'Bolhi RB 20 Aïssa Mandi CB 4 Essaïd Belkalem CB 5 Rafik Halliche (c) LB 6 Djamel Mesbah  39' CM 12 Carl Medjani CM 14 Nabil Bentaleb RW 10 Sofiane Feghouli AM 11 Yacine Brahimi  71' LW 18 Abdelmoumene Djabou  77' CF 13 Islam Slimani  90+2' Substitutions: MF 7 Hassan Yebda  71' FW 9 Nabil Ghilas  87'  77' FW 15 Hillal Soudani  90+2' DF 17 Liassine Cadamuro  90+2' [note 1] Manager: Vahid Halilhodžić

GK 1 Igor Akinfeev RB 2 Aleksei Kozlov  59' CB 14 Vasili Berezutski (c) CB 4 Sergei Ignashevich LB 23 Dmitri Kombarov  57' CM 8 Denis Glushakov  46' CM 20 Viktor Fayzulin RW 19 Aleksandr Samedov AM 9 Aleksandr Kokorin LW 17 Oleg Shatov  67' CF 11 Aleksandr Kerzhakov  81' Substitutions: MF 7 Igor Denisov  46' MF 10 Alan Dzagoev  67' FW 6 Maksim Kanunnikov  81' Manager: Fabio Capello

Man of the Match: Islam Slimani (Algeria) Assistant referees: Bahattin Duran (Turkey) Tarık Ongun (Turkey) Fourth official: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador) Fifth official: Juan Zumba (El Salvador)

Notes

1. Despite not playing, Cadamuro received a yellow card on the bench.

References

1. "2014 FIFA World Cup – Statistical Kit" (PDF). FIFA. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2014.
2. "Belgium's Dries Mertens completes fightback against impressive Algeria". Guardian. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
3. "Belgium 2 Algeria 1". BBC Sport. 17 June 2014.
4. "World Cup 2014: Belgian subs inspire comeback 2–1 win over Algeria". The Australian. 18 June 2014.
5. "2014 FIFA World Cup – Statistical Kit" (PDF). FIFA. p. 23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2014.
6. "Aleksandr Kerzhakov rescues point for Russia against South Korea". Guardian. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
7. "Russia 1 South Korea 1". BBC Sport. 17 June 2014.
8. "2014 FIFA World Cup – Statistical Kit" (PDF). FIFA. p. 37. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2014.
9. "Belgium 1 Russia 0". BBC Sport. 22 June 2014.
10. "Belgium through after Divock Origi sees off Russia with late goal". Guardian. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
11. "2014 FIFA World Cup – Statistical Kit" (PDF). FIFA. p. 38. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2014.
12. "Algeria's Islam Slimani starts onslaught to put game beyond South Korea". Guardian. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
13. "South Korea 2 Algeria 4". BBC Sport. 22 June 2014.
14. "South Korea 2-4 Algeria". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
15. "2014 FIFA World Cup – Statistical Kit" (PDF). FIFA. p. 49. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2014.
16. "Jan Vertonghen fires Belgium to win over South Korea". Guardian. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
17. "South Korea 0 Belgium 1". BBC Sport. 26 June 2014.
18. "Asian media dissects quartet's World Cup performance". FIFA. 27 June 2014. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014.
19. "2014 FIFA World Cup – Statistical Kit" (PDF). FIFA. p. 50. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2014.
20. "Algeria 1 Russia 1". BBC Sport. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
21. "Algeria through but Russia's Akinfeev distracted by laser for Slimani goal". Guardian. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
22. FIFA Stadium Safety and Security Regulations — see page 96, "g"
23. Evans, Simon (1 July 2014). "Algeria zapped with FIFA fine over lasers". Reuters . Retrieved 2 July 2014.
24. "CONCACAF and Africa enter brave new world". FIFA. 27 June 2014. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014.

External links

• 2014 FIFA World Cup Group H, FIFA.com