South Korea v Portugal World Cup Group H Betting Guide

The Teams’ Routes to the World Cup

South Korea

It has been a busy 12 months for South Korea having played 19 international matches including friendlies, AFC World Cup qualifiers and the EAFF E-1 Football Championship. Of those 19 matches, South Korea has won 13, drawn 3 and lost 3 which presents a reasonably good account for themselves. They went on an unbeaten run from 5th June 2021 until 29th March 2022, a total of 14 matches until they were undone away to the United Arab Emirates 1 – 0 in their final world cup qualifier. At present, South Korea has no forthcoming international matches before the commencement of the 2022 World Cup and they will need to arrange some friendlies to be well prepared for their Group H fixtures. South Korea qualified for the 2022 World Cup by finishing second in Group H of the AFC 3rd round world cup qualification route.

Portugal

The Portuguese has shown pretty good form over the last 12 months of international fixtures. Playing 13 matches they have won 9, drawn 2 and lost 2. Their last game in 2021 saw a home loss to Serbia and their last game played in 2022 in June witnessed a 1 – 0 away loss to Switzerland. Both Serbia and Switzerland will play in the World Cup Group G meaning a potential fixture against Portugal in the Round of 16. In September, Portugal has two UEFA Nations League fixtures arranged against the Czech Republic and Spain that will provide stern tests, before the 2022 World Cup commences in November.

The two teams have met only once in the past and South Korea caused an upset by beating Portugal 1 – 0. It was in the 2002 World Cup jointly held in South Korea and Japan and was also the last game of their group stage, that saw South Korea qualify for the round of 16 while Portugal was sent packing homewards.

Current Odds at mr.play

There are so many betting outcomes and markets right here at mr.play that you will be spoilt for choice. They will be available for all the group games and knockout matches in the 2022 World Cup. Choose from markets including goals, match-combo, first half and multi-correct score. Alternatively, you can select the more traditional betting outcome and predict if South Korea or Portugal will win the match, or if the game will end in a draw. Whatever type of bet you are looking for at the 2022 World Cup, you will find it right here at mr.play.

Team Overviews & Player Profiles

South Korea

Jo Hyeon-Woo will be the goalkeeper for South Korea at the 2022 World Cup. He already has experience playing in the 2018 World Cup and has now made 22 international appearances. Against Portugal, he will need to be in the form of his life to help South Korea earn a result. Having played over 200 games for Daegu FC in the K League 1, he moved to Ulsan Hyundai with who he has won the AFC Champions League in 2020. For the past 5 seasons, Jo Hyeon-woo has been named in the K League 1 best XI.

When facing Portugal, the South Koreans may think they will have a busy match in defence keeping the likes of Ronaldo, Bernado and Jota at bay. However, Lee Jae-Sung may provide an outlet playing in attacking midfield or on the wing for South Korea. In his professional career, he developed with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors where he made 137 appearances scoring 26 goals. With Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors he won the AFC Champions League in 2016 and the South Korean K League in 2015 and 2107. He has since earned a contract with German Bundesliga outfit Mainz 05. Representing South Korea, he has won the EAFF Championship in 2015 and 2017 and played in the 2018 World Cup building his collection of appearances to 63 while scoring 9 international goals.

Portugal

It is not only the flair of the Portuguese attacking contingent that will need to be relied upon for goals and assists at the 2022 World Cup. They will also come from other avenues and this may be important against a hard-working team like South Korea. João Cancelo is just the man as the full-back can also play wing-back. He has versatility, strength, speed and energy that will help him get forward and create additional options for the attacking threat of Portugal. Playing for Manchester City he has won the English Premier League twice and correspondingly was named in the Premier League Team of the Year. Cancelo played his part in winning the Nations League for Portugal in 2018/2019 and he has now made 36 appearances for his country. What must be noted is that he has also scored 7 goals playing as a defender or wing-back and that proves the threat he will pose as a potential star player in the 2022 World Cup.

The Portuguese seem to continually find gems of players capable of a little wizardry by being able to unlock defences and score crafty goals. Diogo Jota is another product from Portugal who will be appearing in his first World Cup and could well be one of the star players. His career is going from strength to strength after moving to Wolverhampton Wanderers and making over 100 appearances and winning the EFL Championship in 2017/2018. A lucrative move to Liverpool followed and he has already had success in his short tenure scoring making 54 appearances and scoring 24 goals, helping them to win the FA Cup and EFL Cup in 2022. With Portugal, he is already a 2019 Nations League winner and has collected 27 international caps, scoring 9 goals.   

There is Everything to Play For

In the final round of games in Group H South Korea play Portugal and Ghana will face Uruguay simultaneously. Let us hope both games will need results to determine the outcome of the group and see who qualifies for the round of 16. Whoever qualifies for the knockout stage can expect to face the two teams topping Group G. Those teams include Cameroon, Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland. This will create some fantastic Round of 16 matches and you can catch all the action together with all the betting markets you need, right here at mr.play.