It was a frantic last 15 minutes in Group H, which many had touted as the Group of Death in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. South Korea were holding Portugal to a 1-1 draw and with Uruguay winning 2-0, the Asian country's tournament was all but over. But the three fates had other plans for Heung-Min Son and co.
One minute into injury time, Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-Chan came up for his team. Ironically, the 26-year-old attacker plays around Portuguese players, and his goal in injury time was more than enough to bring wipe off the smiles of the Uruguayan fans and players.
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Portugal were already through entering into this game. They took an early lead courtesy of SC Braga forward Ricardo Horta, but Korea could not be held back for long, with Kim Young-Gwon finding the net 22 minutes later.
While this was going on, Ghana, who needed a draw to go through, missed a penalty and then conceded twice as Giorgan de Arrascaeta scored a brace to make Uruguay look like the team that were going through. Ghana were surely going to miss out on goal difference and with time running out for the African nation, the South Koreans created mayhem at the Education City Stadium.
Hee-Chan's goal was their fourth of the tournament — They had scored twice in their second match against Cameroon, eventually going on to lose 3-2. And given the qualification scenarios, it was the Asian side who triumphed, having scored four goals as compared to Uruguay's two.
What are the qualification scenarios?
If the teams are level on points after the three group games, qualification is decided by goal difference. The full tie-breaker criteria are as follows:
1. Points collected
2. Goal difference
3. Goals scored
4. Head-to-head results
5. Fair play: The team that has accumulated the fewest indiscipline points wins (a yellow card equals one point, a red card shown for two yellows equals three points, a direct red card equals four points and a direct red card shown to a player who was already on a yellow equals five points)
6. Lots drawn
Given that South Korea and Uruguay were equal in points and goal difference, it fell to the goals that they scored in the competition. And since the Uruguayans failed to score in their first two matches — A 0-0 draw vs South Korea and a 2-0 loss to Portugal — It pushed them to third in the group, below their Asian opponents and Ghana finished fourth on the table.
What does it mean for Uruguay?
This is the first time since 2002 that the two-time champions Uruguay have not qualified for the next round of the FIFA World Cup. This might also spell the end of an era for some of the Uruguayan veteran stars like Diego Godin, Fernando Muslera, Edinson Cavani and ofcourse Luis Suarez, who have most likely played their last World Cup game.
