South Korea vs Portugal Prediction: A game over for the Asian side in the final round of the World Cup Group H fixture

Following their two wins in two games, Portugal are in the knockout stages but must fulfil all righteousness when they square off against South Korea in Education City Stadium on Friday. The question is, will Fernando Santos feature his first-team squad or fringe players? Read on to learn more about this.

South Korea (3rd)

Last five games: DL

The Tigers of Asia's hope of securing a top-two finish is hanging in the air following their (2-3) defeat against Ghana. South Korea commenced their campaign with a solid (0-0) draw against former champions Uruguay, and they were lucky to come off with a point after their opponent hit the post twice. It was more of a defensive display from South Korea, who had no shot on target. Their second game ended in a loss despite coming back from two goals down to a leveller at some point.

South Korea need a win here to advance to the knockout phase, and it’s looking like mission impossible following their disappointing performance in both games.

South Korea Starting 11 (4-2-3-1): Kim S-G; Kim M-H, Kim M-J, Kim Y-G, Kim J-S; Hwang I-B, Jung; Lee K-I, Na, Son H-M; Cho G-S

Portugal (1st)

Last two games: WW

Fernando Santos' side will feature in the Knockout phase in Qatar regardless of their result here, and this was possible following their solid two wins in two games. Unlike Russia 2018, where the Portuguese National team were knocked out in the round of sixteen. They will be hoping to at least progress to the final this time.

The Navigators head into this encounter after their (2-0) win over Uruguay. The South American side stood their ground at halftime against Portugal; however, they couldn’t cope with the quality of their opponents after the break as Bruno Fernandes scored twice to secure his team its second tournament victory.

Portugal possible starting lineup: Costa; Cancelo, Pepe, Dias, Guerreiro; Bernardo, Neves, Carvalho; Fernandes; Ronaldo, Felix

Expert Betting Tips

Despite securing their space in the knockout stages, Portugal can’t afford to lose here. They need a draw or a win to attain the top spot, provided Ghana defeat Uruguay. On the other side, South Korea will be without their Coach, who was shown a red card against Ghana. If Fernando Santos goes with his full squad, Portugal should be able to win here comfortably for 1.71.

South Korea are out because even if they defeat Portugal, they will need to score more goals to eliminate their goal difference. We are not sure they can match the quality of this Portuguese side; bet on Portugal to win and over 1.5 goals for 2.00.

C. Ronaldo will be desperate to get a goal here, and we are backing the former world player of the year to find the back of the net here for 2.13.

Good luck!

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