South Korea v Ghana World Cup Group H Betting Guide

The Teams’ Routes to the World Cup

South Korea

The 2022 World Cup will be the 10th consecutive World Cup South Korea has qualified for. In total this will be the 11th World Cup for the South Koreans with their first tournament being the 1954 World Cup held in Switzerland, where they were knocked out in the group stage. It took until the 1986 World Cup of Mexico for South Korea to qualify for the finals. The next 3 World Cups saw the South Koreans knocked out in the group stage. It was when they hosted the World Cup of 2002 jointly with Japan that South Korea managed to get past the group stage. They won their group stage beating Poland and Portugal while drawing with the USA. Amazingly, spurred on by the home support, South Korea went on to beat Italy and Spain, only to be beaten by West Germany in the semi-final and finish in 4th place.

Ghana

The 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar will be the 4th time Ghana has qualified for the tournament. It took them until the German World Cup of 2006 to make their first appearance where they managed to reach the round of 16 where they were knocked out by Brazil. In the following World Cup of 2010, hosted in South Africa, Ghana made their best finish in the competition where they reached the quarter-finals. They qualified for the round of 16 on goal difference, only losing to Germany 1 – 0 during the group stage. They went to beat the USA after extra time in the round of 16 before losing to Uruguay in the quarter-final on penalties. The last World Cup they qualified for was 2014 when they were knocked out in the group stage. Ghana qualified from Group G of the CAF World Cup qualification group but only just, beating South Africa to first place to set up a two-legged 3rd round play-off qualifier against Nigeria. Both games ended in a draw but Ghana sneaked through by winning on the away goals rule.

South Korea and Ghana have met 6 times in the past with each team winning 3 games each. They have never drawn a game and the last they played each other was a friendly in 2014 when Ghana won emphatically 4 – 0.

Current Odds at mr.play

Despite losing 4 – 0 to Ghana the last time they met, South Korea will go into this Group H match as favourites. You can place a stake on South Korea to win and obtain odds of 49/20. If you think Ghana can repeat their last outing against South Korea and win the match, then the current odds available at mr.play are priced at 66/25. Alternatively, it may be difficult to separate the two teams and calling a draw will provide a price of 87/100. Quite clearly, the market is seeing a draw as the most likely outcome at the present moment. If you feel like investigating our hundreds of outcomes and exciting betting markets, then you will find loads more to choose from right here at mr.play.

Team Overviews & Player Profiles

South Korea

If the South Koreans can find their way past the Ghanaian midfield, they will need their forwards to be firing on all cylinders in front of the goal. Hwang Ui-jo will be fired up to score his first World Cup goal. Starting his professional career with K League 1 side Seongnam FC he won the Korean FA Cup in 2014. He then moved to the Japanese J1 League with Gamba Osaka where he was named in the J League Best XI 2018, before joining Bordeaux for the start of the 2019 season. Winning the Asian Games with South Korea U23 he made his senior debut in 2015 and has gone on to make 47 international appearances, scoring a creditable 16 goals.

With the Ghanaians being physical Hwang Hee-chan is the man that will stand up to them when leading the forward line. He is nicknamed ‘The Bull’ for his aggressive style of play and has now made 47 appearances for South Korea scoring 7 goals. He joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2021 and before that played for Red Bull Salzburg and contributed to them winning the Austrian Bundesliga on 4 occasions.

Ghana

The South Koreans will not be short of energy in midfield and the Ghanaians will need to match that effort. Thomas Partey will be the player for Ghana to match the stamina of the Korean midfield. A player that was part of the rise in fortunes of the Atlético Madrid squad, he was contracted to them between 2015 and 2020 making over 125 appearances and contributing to a UEFA Europa League victory in 2017/2018 and La Liga in 2020/2021. Since then, he has joined Arsenal and will hope to be part of their improved form to establish themselves once again in the Premier League and European club competitions. Partey was named Ghanaian player of the year in 2018 and 2019 and has now made 40 international appearances, scoring 13 goals.

Defensive cover will be required when taking care of the energy and running of the South Koreans. Daniel Amartey can play in defence or midfield and together with Thomas Partey, they will be the players being asked to match the South Koreans stride for stride. Amartey plays for Leicester City and has a Premier League title from 2015/2016 and an FA Cup winners medal since he joined the club. He has also won trophies with Danish side Copenhagen. He has now featured for Ghana on 43 occasions and will be looking to score his first international goal in the 2022 World Cup if he can get forward from his defensive-related duties.

A Crucial Match for Two Determined Teams

This is a crucial match for the two teams if they are to prosper in the 2022 World Cup. The Koreans will put all their effort into qualifying for the round of 16 for the first time since the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa. The 2010 World Cup also has fond memories for Ghana when they had their best performance before being knocked out in the quarterfinals. South Korea versus Ghana is a key Group H game and you will find a superb range of betting opportunities for this match right here at mr.play.