Uruguay v South Korea LIVE World Cup 2022: Result, final score and reaction as teams play out dreary stalemate
Uruguay 0-0 South Korea: Uruguay hit the woodwork twice through Diego Godin and Federico Valverde but couldn’t find a breakthrough
Uruguay defender Diego Godin and midfielder Federico Valverde both hit the woodwork as the South Americans were held to a 0-0 draw by South Korea in their opening World Cup Group H game.
Wearing a black mask to protect a facial fracture, Son Heung-min started for the South Koreans, yet it was team mate Hwang Ui-jo who came closest to breaking the deadlock, but he scooped his shot over the bar with the goal at his mercy.
The best chance of a pulsating first half fell to Uruguay captain Godin, whose glancing header from a corner hit the foot of the left-hand post just before the break.
Valverde fired a stinging shot in the final minute of regulation time that hit the top of the post as the two sides battled to a stalemate in front of a crowd of 41,663, with group rivals Portugal set to meet Ghana later in the evening.
Relive all the action with our live blog below:
Uruguay 0-0 South Korea
6 mins: There’s been a lot of talk about Uruguay’s midfield three of Bentancur, Vecino and Valvarde but South Korea are currently dominating the middle of the pitch. Darwin Nunez, meanwhile, has started out on the left.
Uruguay 0-0 South Korea
3 mins: You can know when Son touches the ball without looking up at the screen, given the audible screams that ring around the stadium every time he touches the ball.
South Korea look confident. This bright red kit looks brilliant too.
KICK OFF! Uruguay 0-0 South Korea
1 min: Fast start! South Korea go direct early on, winning a corner as Olivera slides in. Goalkeeper Rochet collects the cross - before Uruguay go straight on the attack. Nunez is almost played in but South Korea can tidy up.
Uruguay vs South Korea
Hopefully this is a cracker. Son meets Diego Godin for the handshake. The veteran defender is back at his fourth World Cup, at the age of 36.
Luis Suarez could also make history with a goal today, and equal the record for Uruguay if he scores his eighth of the World Cup.
Kick-off is next!
Uruguay vs South Korea
The teams are out and it’s time for the anthems! Uruguay’s is so, so good. A lovely musical intro and then a huge powerful finish. Sublime. Fiery.
Son Heung-min is out, face mask and all, and has his hand on his heart. Lovely stuff.
Son Heung-min: South Korea’s greatest football export still leading the way despite injury concern
Son Heung-min’s early-season goal drought saw questions being raised about the pre-World Cup form of South Korea’s Tottenham Hotspur forward, who is fit and firing following a facial fracture.
Son, South Korea’s attacking talisman, has undergone surgery to stabilise a fracture around his left eye that he suffered playing for Tottenham against Olympique de Marseille, that had led to his participation at the World Cup being in doubt.
Yet for months it was his finishing that had fans worried.
After finishing as the Premier League’s joint-top scorer last season, the 30-year-old went eight games in all competitions without a goal to prompt concerns that his golden touch was deserting him with time ticking down to kick-off in Qatar.
South Korea’s greatest football export Son Heung-min still on top despite injury woe
A left-eye fracture left the Tottenham star in a race against time to be fit for Qatar 2022
Uruguay perfect World Cup dark horses with Federico Valverde at the heart of their regeneration
“The original World Cup winners, and indeed hosts, Uruguay have been part of international folklore for as long as that version of the game has been around.
“Unlike some others from that part of the world, though, the story of La Celeste has not always been one of romance and achievement, of being giants and being admired, their names woven into World Cup fabric as often as they would have liked.
“The tenth-biggest nation in South America by population went from mythical to missing on the global stage in the space of less than three decades.
“Between 1978 and 1998 they qualified only twice and tasted victory only once. It has been a long road back for the Sky Blue side, but a golden generation of players was overseen and developed by the legendary Oscar Tabarez and now, under the guidance of Diego Alonso, they are showing that a generational team doesn’t have to be restricted to a single generation.
“Uruguay are very much a force to reckoned with in Qatar at the World Cup, a team with players who know their roles, proven goalscorers and committed faces aplenty and, crucially, a handful of elite talents playing near the top of their game.”
Uruguay preview by Karl Matchett
Uruguay vs South Korea: Team news and line-ups
Son Heung-min starts for South Korea in their World Cup opener against Uruguay. Son is expected to play in a protective mask after sustaining multiple fractures around his left eye three weeks ago.
Uruguay line up with Darwin Nunez and Luis Suarez in attack, along with Manchester United’s Facundo Pellistr. Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde joins Matias Vecino and Rodrigo Bentancur in the midfield.
Uruguay XI: Rochet, Caceres, Godin, Gimenez, Olivera, Valverde, Vecino, Bentancur, Pellistri, Suarez, Nunez
South Korea XI: Seung-Gyu Kim, Moon-Hwan Kim, Min-Jae Kim, Young-Gwon Kim, Jin-Su Kim, In-Beom Hwang, Jung, Na, Jae-Sung Lee, Heung-Min Son, Eui-Jo Hwang
Uruguay vs South Korea
Next up: Uruguay play South Korea in Group H of the World Cup in Qatar.
Two-time winners of the tournament, La Celeste are seen as dark horses this year, with Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez in fine form, while veteran forwards Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani will look for one last hurrah.
Federico Valverde might be more important than anybody, and the Real Madrid midfielder will be key to dictating the tempo against South Korea. Son Heung-min is hoping to play despite suffering a face fracture in the build-up for the tournament while playing for Tottenham in the Champions League, meaning he will wear a face mask - at least during the group stage.
Both sides will be confident they can not only qualify but finish top of a wide-open group that also includes Ghana and Portugal.
Join our coverage of that match, here:
Uruguay vs South Korea LIVE: World Cup 2022 latest score and updates
Group H clash as Darwin Nunez’s La Celeste take on Son Heung-min’s Taegeuk Warriors at Education City Stadium
Breel Embolo delivers Switzerland perfect World Cup start to punish wasteful Cameroon
The muted goal celebration is not an especially common sight sight in international football, but with an ever-more globalised world comes an ever-more globalised World Cup, and so too the conflicting emotions of Switzerland’s match-winner Breel Embolo.
Born in Yaoundé before emigrating to France when he was five-years-old, Embolo did not celebrate the crisp, guided finish that helped overcome Cameroon in this tight Group G opener, instead putting his hands up in apology. A few of his team-mates ran to celebrate the assist with Xherdan Shaqiri instead.
They understand, after all. Many of Murat Yakin’s squad are dual nationals, with the Balkan-origin contingent relishing a rematch of their fiery 2018 meeting with Serbia in the final round of group games. That could be crucial to their hopes of reaching the last-16, with Brazil now next up, but to take three points here was a promising start.
By Mark Critchley at the Al Janoub Stadium
Breel Embolo hands Switzerland perfect World Cup start to punish wasteful Cameroon
Switzerland 1-0 Cameroon: The native Cameroonian refused to celebrate after earning three points for Murat Yakin’s squad
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments