The most dramatic World Cup in recent memory has served up another incredible group stage finish as South Korea pulled off a miracle escape and Uruguay had its heart broken.
The South Koreans trailed Group H winner Portugal before scoring in injury time to pull off a 2-1 win. The result meant Uruguay was one goal short in a 2-0 win against Ghana — and the South Americans reacted furiously.
“This is crazy, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Craig Foster said in the SBS studio. “Going down to literally the last kick of so many games, this is just extraordinary drama.
“This World Cup, it’s just been absolutely mad.”
The morning continues with clashes between Cameroon and Brazil, and Serbia and Switzerland.
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6.30am – Drama heats up between Switzerland and Serbia
Serbia has come up with two goals in nine minutes to leave Switzerland’s campaign on the brink.
Just minutes after Switzerland appeared to bury their European opposition with the first goal of the match, Serbia finds itself going through to the knockout stages on the live standings for Group G.
In a wild end-to-end battle, both teams could have scored multiple goals and it was the Swiss that landed the first blow through Xherdan Shaqiri.
The former Liverpool striker was the beneficiary of a clever pass in from Djibril Sow and made no mistake from close range.
However, his 20th minute goal was cancelled out six minutes later when an unmarked Aleksandar Mitrovic headed in from cross in by Dusan Tadic.
The best goal of the game came in the 35th minute when Dusan Vlahovic came up with a dazzling finish with a tough strike across his body while barely able to stay on his feet in the process.
4.15am — Uruguay’s ‘unacceptable’ referee attack slammed
Uruguay’s frustration at a pair of penalty claims in its 2-0 win against Ghana erupted in ugly scenes as its players got in the face of the referee and followed him down the tunnel.
Several players made physical contact with German official Daniel Siebert and yelled angrily in his face after the South Americans crashed out of the World Cup despite their victory.
Australian commentator and former Socceroo Craig Foster slammed the behaviour.
“It was bad scenes afterwards,” Foster said in the SBS studio. “There’s no need for the Uruguayan players to be confronting the referee and pushing and shoving. That stuff is unacceptable, they shouldn’t be doing it.”
“But it’s going to happen with high emotions,” Mark Bosnich replied.
Giorgian De Arrascaeta netted twice in quick succession in the first half, with 35-year-old Luis Suarez having a hand in both goals.
However, Suarez finished the match on the bench in tears as the news came in of South Korea’s last-gasp victory over Portugal, which meant the Asian side had moved above the Uruguayans into second place in Group H on goals scored.
Veteran striker Suarez had been at the centre of the pre-match build-up because of his infamous handball in the 2010 quarter-finals, which helped eliminate Ghana.
His name was booed loudly by the Ghana fans when it was read out by the stadium announcers and he got the same treatment every time he touched the ball.
He was also leading the protests when Ghana were awarded a penalty in the 19th minute.
Mohammed Kudus had initially been ruled offside when he was brought down by Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet but after that decision was overturned referee Daniel Siebert gave the spot-kick after checking the pitchside monitor.
But Andre Ayew’s tame effort was easily saved by Rochet and with Ghana’s fans silent in disbelief, Uruguay made them pay.
Darwin Nunez was denied by Mohammed Salisu’s brilliant goalline clearance but in the 26th minute De Arrascaeta nodded in from close range after brilliant work from Suarez.
Collecting a poor cross from the right which evaded two Ghana defenders, Suarez cut inside Alidu Seidu and hit a powerful low shot that squirmed through Lawrence Ati Zigi’s hands. It was edging towards the goal when De Arrascaeta pounced.
Six minutes later Uruguay gave Ghana a mountain to climb when Arrascaeta hit a sublime volley at the end of superb team move, Suarez providing a first-time assist from Nunez’s knockdown.
Ghana were let off the hook by Siebert just before the hour mark when he ruled that Daniel Amartey had touched the ball while tackling Nunez in the area.
That decision would turn out to be crucial as another goal would have put Uruguay through.
“I thought this on first view this was a penalty,” Bosnich said in the SBS studio post-game.
“On the second view it was close in terms of he did get a slight touch of the ball but I thought it was still a penalty on the second view.”
But Foster disagreed. “It did look a pen because the camera was so far away, but to me it’s a fantastic use of VAR because he gets the ball and when you get the ball, it’s not as though you aren’t allowed to have any contact, but you must get the ball first,” he said.
Suarez was booed and cheered in equal measure by the crowd when he was substituted for Edinson Cavani in the 66th minute.
Ghana struggled to create anything in response. The closest they came to pulling a goal back came with nine minutes remaining, when Rochet brilliantly tipped away Kudus’s powerful low drive.
Uruguay then realised they needed another goal and poured forward but were unable to find the breakthrough.
4am — South Korea pull off miracle escape
Substitute Hwang Hee-chan scored the winner in injury time to rescue South Korea from the brink of World Cup elimination in a thrilling 2-1 victory over already-qualified Portugal.
The Wolverhampton Wanderers’ forward slipped in the winner in the 91st minute in Qatar to spark delirium and tears among the Korean fans.
Talisman Son Heung-min, who set up the winner, collapsed to the floor and lay on his back on the turf at the final whistle. He had tears in his eyes.
The Korean players then stood in a huddle on the pitch watching the Ghana v Uruguay match on a mobile phone as they awaited their place in the last 16 to be confirmed.
A much-changed Portugal had taken a fifth-minute lead through Ricardo Horta but the Koreans, who had to win to stand any chance of staying alive, hit back in the 27th minute through Kim Young-gwon.
Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo played a part in the Korean equaliser, turning his back on a corner and the ball hitting him to set up Kim.
South Korea and their skipper Son, in a mask after recent surgery, needed to score again but they failed to really trouble Portugal until Son set up Hwang in injury time after a fine run.
Before a ball was even kicked a roar went up at Education City Stadium every time Ronaldo’s face popped up on the big screen, even during the national anthems. There were some jeers too and chants of “Messi, Messi”.
South Korea coach Paulo Bento, the former Portuguese international, had to watch from the stands after he was sent off following the final whistle of the Koreans’ 3-2 defeat to Ghana.
He saw his men fall behind after just five minutes when defender Pepe played the ball down the right to Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot.
Dalot easily evaded a weak Korean challenge and pulled the ball back from the byline for winger Horta to fire unmarked into the back of the net in front of a 44,000 crowd.
With qualification already secure, Portugal made six changes from the team that beat Uruguay 2-0, Dalot and Horta among those bought in.
But they still looked dangerous every time they went forward in the first half against a Korean defence missing Napoli’s Kim Min-jae.
South Korean skipper Son, the Spurs forward, was yet to get going at this World Cup after surgery for a fracture around his left eye at the start of November.
Wearing a black mask to protect the wound, the 30-year-old showed glimpses of his brilliant best as South Korea chased the win they so badly needed.
South Korea were threatening to get on top and in the 27th minute they were level.
The 37-year-old Ronaldo, surely playing at his last World Cup, unwittingly played a central role in the South Korean goal.
Currently without a club after his bitter departure from Manchester United, the forward turned his back on a Korean corner and the ball hit his shoulder and fell straight to defender Kim to turn in.
The second half was more of the same — Portugal enjoying more possession and stroking the ball around but South Korea and an increasingly influential Son a threat on the break.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos brought Ronaldo off on 65 minutes to save his legs, then attacker Hwang came on and proved to be the hero at the death.
— with AFP