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Son Heung-min of Korea’s national soccer team claps following a match against Uruguay on Nov. 24 in Qatar’s Al Rayyan Education City. (Yonhap)

When the dust cleared on the first round of matches in Group H, it turned out that none of the teams had dominated.

It was initially assumed that play in Group H (where South Korea is competing in the 2022 FIFA World Cup) would be controlled by the powerful teams of Uruguay and Portugal. Those teams are near the top of the FIFA rankings, with Uruguay in 14th place and Portugal in 9th.

South Korea was ranked a middling 28th, and Ghana was the lowest-ranking side in the group, at 61st. But commentators were hesitant to gauge the strength of the Ghana players, who are mostly young and untested.

But the outcome of the first match only made it harder to predict which teams in Group H will make it to the Round of 16. South Korea and Ghana have altered the calculus with better-than-expected showings on the field.

South Korea reached a 0-0 draw against Uruguay, holding its own against the higher-ranked team. And while Ghana lost 2-3 against powerful Portugal, the young side still showed its strength.

In the end, there were no weak teams in the group. With all four teams playing at a similar level, Group H may turn out to be a “group of death” in a different sense.

To be sure, that’s welcome news for South Korea, which had been regarded as one of the weaker squads in the group. That gives South Korea a decent shot of reaching the Round of 16.

Mohammed Kudus of Ghana (left) spars Joao Cancel of Portugal for the ball during the two teams’ matchup on Nov. 25 (Korea time) in Doha, Qatar. (Reuters/Yonhap)

The crucial factor for South Korea is clinching victory against Ghana on Monday. The Ghanaian player to watch out for is Mohammed Kudus (Ajax). Kudus is a multi-role player who can be either an aggressive midfielder or a striker.

This 22-year-old ace proved fully capable of handling two or three opponents in the match with Portugal and ultimately helped score an equalizer.

In 10 matches this season, Kudus has recorded seven goals and one assist. One of his goals came in a match against Napoli (Kim Min-jae’s team) in the UEFA Champions League. One positive sign for Korea is that Kim Min-jae defended effectively against Kudus in that match.

In Korea’s match against Portugal on Dec. 3, the number-one threat is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has shown that he’s still in fine form. Despite much chatter about Ronaldo’s termination of his contract with Manchester United prior to the first match of the World Cup, Ronaldo set up his own penalty kick and then scored the first goal against Ghana.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal reacts after missing a goal during Portugal’s matchup against Ghana on Nov. 25 (Korea time) in Doha, Qatar. (Yonhap)

Portugal is strong in the midfield, with players like Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) and Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), but lacks depth on the attack. But Ronaldo demonstrated in the match against Ghana that he can easily handle that role as well.

Both the Ghanaian and Portuguese sides had some uneven play on Thursday. Ghana’s robust defense began to break down after Portugal scored a goal, and Ghana ended up allowing two goals in just two minutes toward the end of the second half.

The Portuguese side also looked unsteady when Diogo Costa, Portugal’s goalkeeper, made a critical error just before the close of extra time, almost giving up a point.

Players from both sides were handed yellow cards during a scuffle toward the end of the second half, demonstrating a lack of emotional control. That’s a weakness Korean players might try to exploit, given their outstanding coolness under pressure.

The Korean side needs to take precautions against injuries in the games to come. Kim Min-jae complained of pain in his right calf following the match with Uruguay. While he said the pain wasn’t too bad after the match, a closer examination is needed.

Players will also need to watch out for penalties, as shown by Portugal’s first goal against Ghana on Thursday. The video assistant referee (VAR) has more of a say in this World Cup, which means that mistakes the field referees didn’t catch can still lead to penalty kicks and other critical opportunities for the other side.

By Lee Jun-hee, staff reporter

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