ortugal are already through to the World Cup knockout stage, but can take first place in Group H if they face each other South Korea on the last day of group matches in the tournament.
After victories over Ghana and Uruguay in their first two matches, Fernando Santos’ team looks set to go deep into the knockout rounds, with Cristiano Ronaldo firing for his country despite an acrimonious departure from Manchester United on the eve of the final.
Bruno Fernandes picked up a brace Portugal won 2-0 last time out while South Korea were eliminated 3-2 by Ghana in a tense match, putting the Asian side at risk of elimination.
Heung-min Son has been the driving force behind South Korea’s chances, but the Tottenham Hotspur star was not fully fit and full of fire and his team collected just one point from their first two meetings. They must beat Portugal for a chance at the last 16.
Here’s everything you need to know about the competition…
Date, start time and location
South Korea and Portugal will meet at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan on Friday, December 2, 2022, the last day of the group stage.
The match starts at 15:00 GMT.
Where can you watch South Korea vs Portugal?
TV channel: Viewers in the UK can tune in live and free to South Korea vs Portugal on BBC One, broadcasting from 2.30pm.
Live stream: The game will also be available to stream live online via the BBC Sport website and BBC iPlayer.
Live coverage: Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s live match blog.
South Korea vs Portugal team news
South Korean manager Paulo Bento – himself a former Portugal international – will not be on the sidelines this time, after England referee Anthony Taylor showed him a red card after the final whistle against Ghana. Bento was unhappy that Taylor blew up full-time before his team could take a corner kick.
On the field, Korea will surely remember Na Sang-Ho, who fell to the bench against Ghana.
Portugal could make changes, with Nuno Mendes a likely injury absentee after stumbling into the game against Uruguay. Danilo Pereira and Otavio are also likely to be unavailable with injuries.
Ronaldo himself is only rated as having a “50/50” chance to play after an injury limited him in training this week, likely knee pain.
South Korea vs Portugal Prediction
Son and company have looked a bit off in this tournament so far, failing to get going against Uruguay and allowing themselves too much work to do against Ghana.
Santos may pass on the changes to rest some of his Portuguese stars, but they have the squad depth that should mean they will have too much. Portugal to cruise to a third successive group victory and set a milestone for their knockout stage rivals.
Standard Sport predicts: 2-0 Portugal
Head to head (h2h) history and results
South Korea wins: 1
Draws: 0
Portugal wins: 0
These two countries have met only once before, with South Korea winning the group stage in 2002 World Cupwhich they organized.
South Korea vs Portugal match odds
South Korea wins: 4/1
Draw: 17/5
Portugal wins: 8/13
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).