FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Uruguay, Ghana out as South Korea advance by beating Portugal

Gulf News

Uruguay beat Ghana 2-0 but went out of the FIFA World Cup on goals scored as they finished third behind South Korea in Group H on yet another dramatic night of action. Both goals were scored by Giorgio de Arrascaeta, the first a close-range header, the second a sublime volley but it counted for nothing as in the other game, South Korea's 2-1 victory over group winners Portugal was enough to take them through in second place. Gulf News football experts discuss the match and look ahead to tomorrow’s last 16 matches.  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  #UAEnews #Qatar #WorldCup

Transcript

00:00You're watching Golf News Kicking Back, Sharm and Satish are back again to talk about what

00:13has been another dramatic night of football. This World Cup is becoming the tournament

00:18that just keeps on giving. We've just seen Uruguay beat Ghana, but they have failed to

00:25make the last 16 of the World Cup because of goals scored. South Korea, of all teams,

00:31have taken the second spot because they beat Portugal tonight with an injury time winner.

00:36They won that match 2-1. Uruguay beat Ghana 2-0. And up until injury time, Sharm, they

00:42had felt that they had done enough. They had done enough. They had done enough. But unfortunately

00:46for them, news filtered into the stadium at the Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar that South

00:52Korea had stung Portugal in injury time to win that match 2-1, which means now Portugal

00:58and South Korea are through. Uruguay and Ghana are out. I mean, just sum up that dramatic

01:04night, Sharm.

01:05I mean, it is a dramatic night. I mean, there was at one point, three teams, any of the

01:14three teams could have qualified, including Ghana. Ghana needed a draw. Towards the end,

01:21if Ghana had scored two goals, they would have still qualified ahead of Korea, actually.

01:26Because they had more goals scored for. So, I mean, you are right. The basic mistake or

01:34the cardinal mistake for Uruguay, I mean, was they didn't expect Korea to beat South

01:41Korea. I think that is a very bad mistake in these days. Because the standard of teams

01:48and the level of games are so close that you can't take any result or any team for granted.

01:54I mean, that's precisely what happened. Injury time goal, and imagine, 90 plus 1. That is

02:00when the Uruguay coach sunk. And the Uruguay coach at that point of time had pulled out

02:05three players, including Suarez, who was very influential today. Two of his assists

02:10actually translated into goals. Darwin and Ness. And they could only sit on the bench

02:15and watch the unfolding drama. And even the drama continued till the last minute. The

02:20balls were switching from goalpost to goalpost. And both the goalkeepers bringing up dramatic

02:25saves. So, you didn't know who is going to win until the whistle went off. So, all in

02:32all, a fantastic night's football. Not just that, the group games have simply been brilliant.

02:40It really was a dramatic night. I don't think anyone expected this much drama in these two

02:44games. Satish, as Shyam just mentioned, Uruguay, I mean, I don't blame them either. They were

02:50looking very comfortable. They were winning 2-0. Ghana were down and out. And to just

02:55save the players, which they thought, for the upcoming last 16 clashes, they took off

03:00all their frontmen. Suarez in particular, 35 years old. He made two assists in the game

03:05today. Every touch that he had of the ball, he was being booed heavily by the Ghana fans.

03:10Because obviously, these two teams have got some real history. In 2010, Suarez conceded

03:17a deliberate handball. He stopped a goal effort. The penalty was awarded to Ghana. But Gayan,

03:24the striker, he missed that. That match went to penalties. Uruguay won 4-2. But Ghana today

03:29were awarded a penalty. And unfortunately, their captain, Jordan Ayew, he missed it.

03:34It was a very soft effort. But Satish, going back to the original point I was going to

03:37make, which Shyam just alluded to, it was a terrible mistake by the coach to take off

03:41Darwin Nunes and Luis Suarez in such an important match, knowing that you possibly would need

03:47to score two or three goals to ensure your progress to the last 16.

03:52True. True, Imran. I think that was a mistake. And I think probably what has happened is

03:57not scoring in the previous games have come back to bite them. But more than what they

04:01did today, isn't it? So, the lack of goals, that's where they lost it. Even in the last

04:07minute, if one goal could have come in, then maybe they would have gone ahead of South

04:12Korea. But that's where I think they lost the plot. But again, these kind of things

04:19you can't really expect. Though, yes, as a coach, you have to see various scenarios.

04:23You can't expect a coach to keep your best players because he must be saving them for

04:28the next game. Because they must be looking forward to the round of 16. So, tough luck

04:34for the veterans, the Cavani and the Suarez. Unfortunately, till the last, Suarez wasn't

04:42here. Maybe his teams have crashed and probably it's his last World Cup. So, unfortunately,

04:48yeah, it is. And that's the beauty of the sport. It gives you, it pays back you at the

04:53wrong time, isn't it? For what you did in 2010. So, unfortunately.

05:01The funny thing is, look, Ghana were looking for revenge tonight. They couldn't do it themselves.

05:06But they'll be thanking the South Koreans for helping them out, for making sure Europe

05:10won.

05:11I think, in a way, they also did that, isn't it? Because they didn't allow the last one

05:16to score a goal. So, they got the full of pleasure.

05:19Yeah, they did. Well, they did what they wanted to do. They got a big upturn in the arena.

05:25But Sham, this tournament is really becoming absolutely incredible. We thought maybe the

05:30early shock that we had when Saudi beat Argentina and then Germany were beaten by Japan, we

05:35thought maybe there's not going to be any more than that. But we're getting them every

05:38single game, it seems. This is probably one of the best overall tournaments of the World

05:44Cup, would you say?

05:46Yes, every World Cup has a couple of shocks in the group stages. That's only natural.

05:53Simply because teams coming together, players coming together. And especially the openers

05:59for each team is quite tricky. So, which is why we have seen in the past, in 1996, I think

06:06Jumder Wald said that they will take the first flight back home if Tunisia beats them and

06:12Tunisia beat them 2-1. Anyway, Jumder Wald and his team did not take the flight. Germany

06:16stayed on to make the final, losing to Italy. But those kind of shocks are to be expected.

06:23If you go back in time, any World Cup, there have been shocks in group stages, but one

06:29or two. That's about it. But this has been like a blizzard, one after the other.

06:37I mean, it started with South Korea to Japan, then went to Morocco, then again back to Japan.

06:46It is ceaseless. And today you have Portugal beaten by South Korea. And who saw that coming?

06:53So this group stage has been what you call a blizzard of upset. And I loved it, actually.

06:59The thing is, that's the best part about football. The thing is, the football has become, as

07:04we know, a universal game. And we also know that the level of football is more or less

07:09uniform around the world. Earlier, Asia and the Arab world used to be the poor cousins

07:15of Europe and Latin America. I think it's no longer the case.

07:19It's just an incredible story, Satish, because obviously the focus of this Uruguay match

07:24will be on Suarez, who's 35 now. So this is definitely his last World Cup. Obviously,

07:29we've been talking about Messi being 35 and Ronaldo being 37. But Suarez is also probably

07:34playing in his, well, definitely playing in his last tournament. He would have been desperate

07:38to have got through to the knockout stages. But unfortunately, you know, what do they

07:44say? What's that phrase? You know, what goes around comes around. So 12 years ago, what

07:47he did, you know, by stopping Ghana from advancing, it's come back the worst possible way. Because

07:55I believe, had he still been on the pitch, he may have, you know, done something and

07:58provided possibly a third goal once they knew that they needed a third goal. By taking him

08:04off the pitch, they were looking very lightweight. But that's it. That's how it's finished.

08:09Unfortunately, for Uruguay and Ghana, they both go home. Portugal and South Korea advance.

08:15Now guys, the exciting stuff starts for sure.

08:17Again, Eman, just to add something. Again, Portugal making six changes helped South Korea

08:22also in a way, isn't it? In this game, they played literally their second string.

08:28Yeah. So now we have the last 16 starting tomorrow, where the Netherlands are going

08:32to be playing against the USA. Shyam, how do you see that one going tomorrow?

08:37Netherlands and USA. Netherlands has not been at their best, but USA has been quite good,

08:43actually. So, Netherlands really have to lift their game. Otherwise, they will be done in by

08:48USA. So, I'm looking forward to that match because this is going to be an interesting game.

08:54Satish, do you think that one could go to extra time penalties?

08:59I think maybe not. Not so much. Maybe the Netherlands, they have got the experience.

09:05They have got the coach, Van Gaal is a veteran in this and he has done well so far. Though there

09:12were a lot of criticism against him, he didn't care about what they said. He is looking to win.

09:19So, I'm sure with these kinds of big teams, I always feel as the knockout phase comes in,

09:25they play better because the minors or the lower ones in the rankings would be under more pressure.

09:33That's my feeling. So, I think the Netherlands should go through or have it easier probably

09:38by the end of the regulation time. Okay, we'll see. And the other one,

09:43guys, from now, there's only two games a day. But the four games a day we've enjoyed is as

09:49long as there's only going to be two. So, the second one tomorrow night is the late one.

09:53Argentina against Australia. Now, Shyam, we've seen Argentina come from the brink after losing

10:00a game against Saudi. The pressure was on them. Messi delivered in that last game.

10:04Is he going to deliver again against the Aussies?

10:08I think so. Because if you look at the last game, Argentina have got their act together.

10:13They are busting. And if they continue to do that, I think they will live up to their

10:17tag of favourite. And in this form, I expect them to make the final actually. Because unless

10:24they run into one of the… I hope they don't run into Brazil at some point. But otherwise,

10:28I think they could make the final really. Because if provided they display the same

10:33form from the last match. Not just Messi, the rest of the team came around. So, I think

10:40we are seeing a different Argentina. And I'm sure Messi will have his say in the match.

10:47So, my call is tomorrow's match, Argentina will win. So will the USA.

10:56And Satish, do you think Graeme Arnold's Australia can cause another shock to Lionel

11:03Scaloni's Argentina? I mean, this tournament, like we've all been saying, is full of surprises.

11:07Are we going to see one tomorrow?

11:09True. I don't think so, Imran. If you look at Argentina, in about 37 matches, they lost one.

11:15So, they are a team that is in form. Yeah, you have your off days. But I think I will go with

11:21Argentina. And especially the way they played. And literally from break, where they had to win

11:27and do well in the next game. So that they had to enter the last 16. They did quite well. So,

11:32that confidence should be there in them. So, I would go with Argentina as well. Because obviously,

11:40you can't have too many bad days. And they have come back to their best again.

11:45All right, we will see how they all get on. That's enough from us tonight. My opinion?

11:50Oh, I got a funny feeling, Satish. I think, you know, the way this tournament is going,

11:55I wouldn't be surprised if we see more surprises. Basically, Australia and the USA win.

12:01Well, I mean, this has been a tough tournament. So, we never know. But yeah, I do think Argentina

12:07should be too strong. And the Netherlands also as well should progress. But we'll see. We don't

12:13know. It's been amazing so far. And I think we're going to be seeing lots more drama coming up.

12:18That's enough from the guys. We'll be back tomorrow. In the meantime,

12:21head to gulfnews.com for all the latest news. And check us out on our social media channels.

12:26Thank you and see you tomorrow night.

Category

Transcript

Recommended