South Korea are looking for their first win in the second group game of the 2022 World Cup while Ghana wants to avoid them from doing it to stay in the tournament.
The Taegeuk Warriors drew 0-0 with Uruguay on the same day Ghana scored twice but lost to Portugal 3-2.
KOR vs GHA Match Details
Date: Monday, 28 November 2022
Time: 18:30 (IST)
Venue: Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
KOR vs GHA Match Preview
Both sides could have gained more in the game if South Korea and Uruguay were not guilty of missing chances in the 0-0 draw to open their 2022 World Cup campaign. Paulo Bento’s South Korea showed their strong defensive unity side by side demonstrating their positive attacking play mainly through their wings. Possibly the best chance fell to them when Hwang Ui-jo skied his effort from close range although Uruguay did hit the post twice. The only worry for Taegeuk Warriors will be the lack of working the opposition keeper with no shots on target. The point gathered will mean nothing if South Korea doesn’t win in at least one of the two games left. Taking one against Ghana in the second group stage game is suitable rather than facing Portugal in the final game. Winning against the African nation will not guarantee their spot in the latter stages but could get them closer. South Korea also suffered defeat only once in the last 10 games so there is no sense of negativity heading into the clash. However, this World Cup has been the store of upsets and shocks and Ghana’s display against Portugal was excellent making this clash a tricky one. The nation from Asia have not made it to the round of 16 stages since the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. They will be desperate to get the win here and hope Portugal takes a less serious approach in the last game by sealing qualification beforehand.
Ghana may be the lowest-ranked African nation in the 2022 World Cup but they are always up for a fight in this tournament. It reflected in their resilience against Fernando Santos’s men in the first match where the Black Stars almost secured a draw in the 3-2 loss. Otto Addo’s side went behind through Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty which had a very controversial touch to it before star man Andre Ayew delivered for them in the big stage again. Then Portugal hit Ghana twice in quick succession forcing them to look for inspiration from the bench. Osman Bukari provided that in the 89th minute. Then in added time, Portugal’s keeper Diogo Costa almost caused the howler of the season by rolling the ball inadvertently to the feet of Inaki Williams but the Athletic Bilbao forward failed to take the chance. The defeat leaves Ghana walking on a thread to avoid elimination. Another loss will surely force a group-stage exit for only the second time in their World Cup history. Otto Addo’s side knows the second group game against South Korea could fall to either side. In the last six meetings, both have shared three wins in each. The four-game unbeaten run with three successive clean sheets of Taegeuk Warriors could cause problems for Ghana to shake them up. However, the Black Stars have to take the risk to gain the reward.
KOR vs GHA Team News
South Korean fans were pleased to see Son Heung-Min playing the first game in the 2022 World Cup unscratched, with a protective mask on after his recent eye fracture surgery. He completed full 90 minutes in the goalless draw against Uruguay. Wolves forward Hwang-Hee Chan has failed to recover from his hamstring injury and will not feature for this game.
Also Read | South Korea FIFA World Cup 2022 Squad and Team Profile and FIFA World Cup 2022: South Korea - World Cup Records and Stats
For Ghana, head coach Otto Addo is likely to switch his ultra-defensive formation to a 4-2-3-1 with Osman Bukari coming in the starting eleven. The 23-year-old made a steady impact off the bench by scoring a goal that almost allowed Ghana to make a comeback in the match. Andre Ayew scored his third World Cup goal in the opening game loss against Portugal and will retain his spot despite training separately before this clash. Right-back Alidu Seidu also trained alongside him but he too will feature here.
Also Read | FIFA World Cup 2022: Ghana - World Cup Records and Stats and Ghana’s Squad for FIFA World Cup 2022 & Team Profile
KOR vs GHA Predicted Lineups
KOR: Seung-Gyu; Moon-Hwan, Min-Jae, Young-Gwon, Jin-Su; In-Beom, Woo-Young Jung; Sang-Ho Na, Jae-Sung Lee, Heung-Min Son; Hwang Ui-jo
GHA: Ati Zigi; Alidu Seidu, Daniel Amartey, Alexander Djiku, Rahman Baba; Partey, Abdul Samed;
Osman Bukari, Mohammed Kudus, Andre Ayew; Inaki Williams
KOR vs GHA Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Seung-Gyu (8.5)
DEF: Young-Gwon (7.5), Min-Jae (8.5), Djiku (7), Jin-Su (7.5)
MID: Bukari (5.5), In-Beom (8), Kudus (7.5), A Ayew (8)
FW: Williams (9), Son (9)
Vice-captain: Andre Ayew
Captain: Heuing-Min Son
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