The Portuguese football team is looking to take first place in Group H of the 2022 World Cup against South Korea this Friday after having already stamped qualification for the round of 16.
After beating Ghana (3-2) and Uruguay (2-0), Portugal closed the group stage against a team coached by Paulo Bento with a draw sufficient to secure first place in the group, with a three-point lead from second-placed Ghana, who simultaneously plays with Uruguay.
For the last match in Group H, coach Fernando Santos will have to make some changes to the starting XI, not only to manage the physical efforts of the busiest players, but also to protect the four, which are in danger of failing the next stage. if you see a yellow card, as in the case of Ruben Dias, Ruben Neves, Bruno Fernandez and Joao Felix.
Although it is difficult to predict given the nature of the match, players such as Diogo Dalot, António Silva, Paligna, João Mario, Vitinha, Matheus Nunez, André Silva or Gonçalo Ramos could have started from the beginning, while Diogo Costa, Pepe, João Cancelo, William Carvalho and Bernardo Silva remain in the starting lineup.
Portugal and South Korea will meet at 18:00 local time (15:00 in Lisbon) at the Education City stadium in Doha in the third round match of the Group H of the 2022 World Cup, which will be officiated by Argentine referee Facundo Tello.
The Kinas team leads the group with six points, three more than Ghana, in second place and another five against the South Koreans, who are coached by Paulo Bento, and the Uruguayans, who face the Ghana at the same time in Al Janoub. Stadium in Al Wakra.
If this guarantees first place in group H, Portugal will face second place in group G in the round of 16, but if they remain in second place, they will face the first of that “pool” in which Brazil, the leader with six points, and Switzerland, second with three, they have an advantage over Cameroon and Serbia, both with one, in the “race” to the next stage.
The Brazilians, five-time world champions, will play Cameroon from 22:00 local time, while the Swiss will play the Serbians at the same time in two matches that will close the final round of the 1/8 finals, in which the following duels are already scheduled: England-Senegal, France-Poland, Morocco-Spain, Netherlands-USA, Argentina-Australia and Japan-Croatia.