hankyoreh

Members of Korea’s national football team and coach Paulo Bento stand on the field following their loss to Ghana on Nov. 28 (local time) at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

A last-ditch series of attacks. It was a battle where the will of both sides to win clashed head-on. After giving their all, the players collapsed in despondency.

The Paulo Bento-skippered Korean national team fell to Ghana 2-3 in its second Group H match at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, on Monday (local time). Some hard work by Cho Gue-sung (Jeonbuk) and Lee Kang-in (Mallorca) brought balance to the match in the second half after Korea went down by two goals, but in the end, Bento’s squad couldn’t establish a decisive springboard into Round of 16.

Bento made three changes to the lineup from the Uruguay match. Forward Cho Gue-sung replaced Hwang Ui-jo (Olympiacos) on the front line, while Jeong Woo-yeong (Freiburg) and Kwon Chang-hoon (Gimcheon) replaced Lee Jae-sung (Mainz 05) and Na Sang-ho (Seoul) on the second midfield line on the center and right. The regulars made up the third midfield line and defensive line, including defender Kim Min-jae (Napoli), who missed practice after suffering a calf injury against Uruguay and was a feared scratch.

Korea controlled the flow of the first half. Having found their confidence in Bento’s buildup strategy against Uruguay, Korea moved its defensive line near the half line, keeping Ghana bottled up in their own end and controlling the attack. Through the first 20 minutes of the half, Korea had four shots on goal against none for Ghana.

The Koreans hammered Ghana’s goalmouth, drawing seven corner kicks to none for Ghana. However, none of those kicks led to decisive opportunities, and none of Korea’s shots found their target. This inability to score goals, a continuation from the first match against Uruguay, resulted in disastrous counterattacks.

Trouble emerged from the left side at the 24th minute. Jordan Ayew’s (Crystal Palace) set piece free kick bounced off a Korean defender, resulting in a scramble in the Korean goalmouth, during which Mohammed Salisu (Southampton) managed to put the ball past the goal line, giving Ghana the first goal. There was a brief video review to check for a possible hand ball by Andre Ayew (Al Sadd) but the goal stood.

Ghana scored an additional goal on another header. In the 33rd minute of the first half, Jordan Ayew sent a crossing pass from nearly the same spot, which Mohammed Kudus put into the net with a header after cleverly sneaking in behind the defenders.

When attacking, midfielder Salis Abdul Samed (Lens) moved back to control the sides with an enlarged back three, while on defense, Ghana formed two lines with a back four. Jordan Ayew on the left, Tariq Lamptey (Brighton & Hove Albion) on the right and Mohammed Kudus controlled the space.

Cho Gue-sung kept pace with Ghana’s performance. Just a minute after coming in as an 11th-minute substitute, Lee Kang-in robbed the ball on the left and sent a beautiful left-footed cross to Cho, who headed the ball into the back of Ghana’s goal. Just three minutes later, Kim Jin-su took a pass from Son Heung-min and sent a deep cross to Cho, who again headed it in, this time for the equalizer.

Korea gave up the go-ahead goal to Mohammed Kudus at the 23rd minute of the second half, but Korea’s attack once again caught fire thanks to Lee Kang-in. Lee put on a display in the second half, including a free kick in the 29th minute that forced the Ghana goalkeeper to make a diving save and a nifty sneak pass to Cho in extra minutes. Korea waged a bitter struggle to the very end but could not deliver the needed blow.

With one tie and one loss, Bento’s squad faces an uphill challenge to reach the Round of 16 when they go up against Portugal in their final group match on Dec. 3 (Korean time).

By Park Kang-su, staff reporter

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