Matches in Group H of the 2022 FIFA World Cup took place from 24 November to 2 December 2022. [1] The group consisted of Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea. The top two teams, Portugal and South Korea, advanced to the round of 16. [2] Uruguay exited the tournament after failing to progress the group stage for the first time since 2002, with South Korea's shock 2–1 victory over Portugal contributing to the elimination.
| Draw position | Team | Pot | Confederation | Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Finals appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance | FIFA Rankings [3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2022 [nb 1] | October 2022 | |||||||||
| H1 |  Portugal | 1 | UEFA | UEFA second round Path C winners | 29 March 2022 | 8th | 2018 | Third place (1966) | 8 | 9 |
| H2 |  Ghana | 4 | CAF | CAF third round winners | 29 March 2022 | 4th | 2014 | Quarter-finals (2010) | 60 | 61 |
| H3 |  Uruguay | 2 | CONMEBOL | CONMEBOL round robin third place | 24 March 2022 | 14th | 2018 | Winners (1930, 1950) | 13 | 14 |
| H4 |  South Korea | 3 | AFC | AFC third round Group A runners-up | 1 February 2022 | 11th | 2018 | Fourth place (2002) | 29 | 28 |
Notes
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | South Korea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Uruguay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Ghana | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 |
In the round of 16:
All times listed are local, AST (UTC+3). [1]
The teams had previously met eight times, including twice in the World Cup, both matches won by Uruguay: a 1–0 group stage victory in 1990 and a 2–1 round of 16 success in 2010.
The match ended in a goalless draw, with the best chances coming when Diego Godín and Federico Valverde both hit the post for Uruguay.
| Uruguay | 0–0 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
          Uruguay |     South Korea |
|  |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
The teams had met once before, being Portugal's 2–1 group stage victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
After a goalless first half, Portugal were awarded a penalty in the 65th minute, when Mohammed Salisu fouled Cristiano Ronaldo in the penalty area. Ronaldo took the penalty and scored, shooting high to the left of the goalkeeper, to put Portugal into the lead. André Ayew equalised for Ghana in the 73rd minute with a close range finish after a low cross from Mohammed Kudus on the left. Portugal swiftly responded with two quick goals from World Cup debutants, the first coming from João Félix in the 78th minute with a clipped finish from the right over the advancing goalkeeper, and the second from substitute Rafael Leão two minutes later with a low finish into the right corner of the goal after a pass from Bruno Fernandes. In the 89th minute, Ghanaian substitute Osman Bukari scored with a header from six yards out to reduce the deficit. Then, in stoppage time, Ghana nearly equalized when Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa put the ball on the ground, preparing to kick it upfield, and Ghana's Iñaki Williams came from behind Costa to take the ball but slipped as he was about to shoot, with the ball subsequently cleared from danger by Portugal. [5]
With his goal, Ronaldo became the first male player to score at five different FIFA World Cup tournaments. [6] At the age of 37 years and 292 days, he also became the second-oldest player to score at a World Cup, behind only Roger Milla for Cameroon in 1994 (aged 42 years and 39 days). [7]
     Portugal |      Ghana |
|  |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
The teams had faced each other eight times, most recently in 2014, 4–0 friendly win by Ghana.
In the first half, Ghana scored two goals against the run of play within a ten-minute span to take a 2–0 lead, coming from Mohammed Salisu and Mohammed Kudus. South Korea would then reply in the second half with two goals of their own, both headers scored within three minutes of each other by Cho Gue-sung, to level the game at 2–2. Kudus scored the decisive goal and his second of the match in the 68th minute, coming after Iñaki Williams had mistimed his initial shot, to put Ghana back in front. Ghanaian goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi made multiple crucial saves and Salisu cleared an effort off the line late on to secure them a 3–2 victory. [9]
Cho Gue-sung and Kudus each became the first players to score multiple goals in a single World Cup match for their respective countries. [10]
When referee Anthony Taylor ended the game instead of allowing a South Korean player to kick off a corner, South Korea's head coach Paulo Bento ran onto the field and screamed at the referee, for which he was shown a red card, making it the first time in World Cup history that a coach was sent off after the conclusion of the match. Counting players' Leandro Cufré's and Josip Šimunić's red cards (both in 2006), this was the third time a sending off occurred after the match had ended. [11]
| South Korea | 2–3 | Ghana |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
South Korea | Ghana |
|  |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
The teams had met three times prior, including Uruguay's 2–1 round of 16 victory at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Bruno Fernandes put Portugal into the lead during the second half when his cross from the left deceived Uruguay keeper Sergio Rochet, after Cristiano Ronaldo had tried to glance the ball past him with his head. Ronaldo was initially ruled as the goalscorer before FIFA determined that he hadn't connected with the ball, and instead awarded the goal to Fernandes. [13] [14] Fernandes scored a second in the third minute of stoppage time, a penalty awarded by the VAR for handball by José Giménez, which he rolled into the left side of the net. [15] With this victory, Portugal secured a place in the knockout stage. [16]
Portugal |      Uruguay |
|  |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
The teams had one prior meeting, which came in the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals; Uruguay won 4–2 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time.
In the first half, Ghana were awarded a penalty after Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet was adjudged to have fouled Mohammed Kudus inside the area; however, Rochet then saved the subsequent spot kick taken by Ghana captain André Ayew. Shortly after this, midfielder Giorgian de Arrascaeta scored Uruguay's first two goals of the tournament within a span of six minutes to earn his side a 2–0 half-time lead, which saw them rise to second place in the live group standings. However, Uruguay would then be pushed down to third in the table on goals scored following South Korea's winner against Portugal late into the second half of the group's other ongoing game. Uruguay were unable to find the third goal they now required to advance, with Ghana keeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi making saves late on to deny both Edinson Cavani and Maxi Gómez, and thus failed to progress past the first round for the first time since 2002. Defeat also saw Ghana eliminated, finishing bottom of the group with only three points. [18]
Referee Daniel Siebert and his assistants were angrily confronted by Uruguayan players following the final whistle, after both Siebert and the VAR had disagreed with Uruguay's penalty appeals in the second half: first for a coming together between Darwin Núñez and Ghana's Alidu Seidu, and then in stoppage time after Cavani went down in the area. In January 2023, FIFA would go on to punish several Uruguayan players for their actions in the aftermath of the contest, deeming their behaviour "discriminatory", "offensive", and a "violation of the principles of fair play"; substitute keeper Fernando Muslera and defender José Giménez both received four-match bans, while Cavani and captain Diego Godín each served a one-game suspension. All four players were also required to pay fines along with the nation's football association, and carry out a form of football community service. [19]
With De Arrascaeta's goals, Uruguay became the last team of all 32 participants to score at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. [20]
| Ghana | 0–2 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Ghana | Uruguay |
|  |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Prior to this match, the teams had met once before, being South Korea's 1–0 group stage victory in the 2002 FIFA World Cup (which they co-hosted with Japan).
A rotated Portugal side took the lead in the opening five minutes, when Ricardo Horta scored on his World Cup debut with a first-time shot. South Korea would equalize in the 27th minute, when Portugal failed to clear a corner which hit the back of Cristiano Ronaldo, landing at the feet of Kim Young-gwon who scored from close range. In a second half where both sides saw opportunities, South Korea would find the winner in stoppage time, after Son Heung-min recovered the ball off a counter from a Portugal corner and slipped it to Hwang Hee-chan, who finished his shot into the bottom corner of the net. [22]
This late victory saw South Korea leapfrog Uruguay in the group standings on goals scored to join Portugal in the knockout stage, progressing to the second round for the first time since 2010.
| South Korea | 2–1 | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
South Korea |      Portugal |
|  |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers if the overall and head-to-head records of teams were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows: [2]
Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.
| Team | Match 1 | Match 2 | Match 3 | Points | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  | | | | | | | | | | ||
| Portugal | 2 | 3 | −5 | ||||||||||
| South Korea | 1 | 2 | 2 | −5 | |||||||||
| Ghana | 4 | 2 | 2 | −8 | |||||||||
| Uruguay | 1 | 2 | 5 | −8 | |||||||||
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea and Japan, with its final match hosted by Japan at International Stadium in Yokohama. During the opening ceremony, the championship was declared opened by President of South Korea Kim Dae-jung.
The Portugal national football team has represented Portugal in men's international football competitions since 1921. The national team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home games are played at the Estádio Nacional stadiums in Portugal, and its primary training ground and technical headquarters, Cidade do Futebol, is located in Oeiras. The head coach of the team is Roberto Martínez, and the captain is Cristiano Ronaldo, who also holds the team records for most caps and most goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both the Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr and the Portugal national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has won numerous individual accolades throughout his career, such as five Ballon d'Or awards, a record three UEFA Men's Player of the Year Awards, four European Golden Shoes, and was named five times the world's best player by FIFA, the most by a European player. He has won 33 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo holds the records for most appearances (183), goals (140) and assists (42) in the Champions League, most appearances (30), assists (8), goals in the European Championship (14), international appearances (217) and international goals (135). He is one of the few players to have made over 1,200 professional career appearances, the most by an outfield player, and has scored over 900 official senior career goals for club and country, making him the top goalscorer of all time.
The 2002 FIFA World Cup final was the final match of the 2002 World Cup, the 17th edition of FIFA's competition for national football teams. The match was played at the International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan, on 30 June 2002, and was contested by Germany and Brazil. The tournament comprised hosts Japan and South Korea, holders France, and 29 other teams who emerged from the qualification phase, organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 32 teams competed in a group stage, from which 16 teams qualified for the knockout stage. En route to the final, Germany finished first in Group E, with two wins and a draw, after which they defeated Paraguay in the round of 16, the United States in the quarter-finals and South Korea in the semi-finals. Brazil finished top of Group C with three wins, before defeating Belgium in the round of 16, England in the quarter-final, and Turkey in the semi-final. The final took place in front of 69,029 supporters, with an estimated 1.1 billion watching on television, and was refereed by Pierluigi Collina from Italy.
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. Known for his goal scoring ability, movement, and clinical finishing, he is regarded as one of the best players of his generation as well as one of the greatest strikers of all time. Nicknamed "El Pistolero", individually, he has won two European Golden Shoes, an Eredivisie Golden Boot, a Premier League Golden Boot and a Pichichi Trophy. He has scored over 500 career goals for club and country.
The term "last-minute goal" is used in sport, primarily association football, to describe a goal scored very late in a game, usually one that affects the outcome of the game. The definition of a "last-minute goal" commonly used is one scored either in the final or penultimate minute of regulation time or extra time, or during stoppage time or injury time.
Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Argentine Primera División club Boca Juniors. Nicknamed "El Matador", he is considered as one of the best strikers of his generation.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in 2010. It was the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East and Persian Gulf countries, and the second in an Asian country after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan.
The knockout stage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup was the second and final stage of the World Cup, following the group stage. It began on 26 June with the round of 16 matches, and ended on 11 July with the final match of the tournament held at Soccer City, Johannesburg, in which Spain beat the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time to claim their first World Cup. The top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament. A third place match was included and played between the two losing teams of the semi-finals.
The South Korea national football team have appeared eleven times at the FIFA World Cup, including ten consecutive tournaments from 1986 to 2022. The team made its World Cup debut in 1954, losing both matches and finishing fourth in the group stage. South Korea's best ever result is fourth place at the 2002 tournament, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. At the tournament, South Korea eliminated Italy and Spain in the round of 16 and quarter-finals, respectively, and thus became the first team outside Europe and the Americas to reach the semi-finals.
Nine of ten members of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) have competed in the men's FIFA World Cup finals. National association football teams from CONMEBOL have won the tournament ten times, including Brazil's record five championships. CONMEBOL countries have hosted the finals five times.
Association football is among the most popular sports in Asia, with 13 members of the Asian Football Confederation having competed at the sport's biggest international event, the men's FIFA World Cup. The highest ranked result in the World Cup for an Asian team is 4th place in the 2002 FIFA World Cup by South Korea.
Group G of the 2014 FIFA World Cup consisted of eventual champions Germany, Portugal, Ghana and United States. Play began on 16 June and ended on 26 June 2014. The top two teams, Germany and the United States, advanced to the round of 16.
The history of the Portugal national football team dates back to its first match on 18 December 1921. The national team, also referred to as Seleção das Quinas, represents the nation of Portugal in international football. It is fielded by the Portuguese Football Federation and competes as one of the founding members of UEFA.
The Portugal–Spain football rivalry is one of the oldest football rivalries at a national level. It began on 19 December 1921, when Portugal lost 1–3 to Spain at Madrid in their first ever international friendly game. Portugal lost their first matches, with their first draw (2–2) only coming in 1926. Portugal's first win came much later (4–1) in 1947.
The 2016 FIFA Club World Cup final was the final match of the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup, an association football tournament hosted by Japan. It was the 13th final of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised tournament between the winners of the six continental confederations, as well as the host nation's league champions.
Group B of the 2018 FIFA World Cup took place from 15 to 25 June 2018. The group consisted of Portugal, Spain, Morocco, and Iran. The top two teams, Spain and Portugal, advanced to the round of 16.
Group A of the 2018 FIFA World Cup took place from 14 to 25 June 2018. The group consisted of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Uruguay. The top two teams, Uruguay and Russia, advanced to the round of 16.
Mohammed Kudus is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a right winger for Premier League club West Ham United and the Ghana national team. He has previously played for Nordsjælland and Ajax.
The 2021–22 season was Manchester United's 30th season in the Premier League and their 47th consecutive season in the top flight of English football.
