Uruguay did not extend their streak of five consecutive World Cup group stage wins, but have not conceded for the fifth consecutive time. In the next round, the South Americans will face Portugal on Monday. Korea faces Ghana.
Captain Son Hung-min, who had to undergo surgery three weeks ago due to a fractured eye socket, was not missing from the Korean starting lineup. The Tottenham scorer played with a protective mask and remained on the pitch throughout the match. “Fortunately, my injury wasn’t that bad in the end, I recovered in time,” said the 30-year-old forward after the match.
Second captain Diego Godín, aged 36 years and 281 days, became the oldest Uruguayan footballer to play in the World Cup.
A cautious first half on both sides didn’t offer many scoring chances. Hwang I-cho, who played in his 50th international match, threatened for the first time after half an hour, but shot high from a promising position in the box. Godín had the best chance just before the break, whose header from a corner went off the post.
Valverde also hit the goal at the end of the game with a shot from 20 meters, otherwise the picture of the game did not change even in the second half. Neither team has recorded a shot between the three posts in the statistics, which has happened for the first time at the World Cup this century.
“We had difficulty getting into the game. We were unable to create chances and had to make up for it with combativeness. We gradually improved, but today we lacked precision,” assessed Godín.
The Koreans improved their negative balance with the quarterfinals of last season and did not lose against them for the second time in a row. “The first half was better from us than the second. We played organized and quite aggressive. Uruguay have a good team, but we showed that we are not afraid of anyone,” boasted coach Paulo Bento .
