FIFA World Cup 2022: Portugal unable to create as South Korea secure last minute qualification – tactical analysis

On the final day of the group stage fixtures, South Korea had everything to play for, while Portugal were already guaranteed to progress into the next stage. At the Education City stadium, Portugal made their intentions clear, with a heavily rotated lineup, giving some of the players a chance to play their way into the starting lineup.

South Korea on the other hand, came into the game off the back of a 3-2 defeat to Ghana, which left them needing a win and hoping for Ghana to drop points in their grudge match against Uruguay, in order for them to stand a chance of progressing further.

In this tactical analysis, we take a detailed look at the tactics utilised by both South Korea and Portugal. There is an analysis of how Portugal dominated the ball, yet couldnt create many chances after going 1-0 up, and resorted to attempts from outside the box pretty much exclusively.

Lineups

As Portugal had already qualified, Fernando Santos decided to give a few players minutes, and offer some key players a vital rest. Antonio Silva came in to replace Man Citys Ruben Dias, to become the youngest-ever player to represent Portugal at the World Cup. Manchester Uniteds Diogo Dalot replaced the injured Nuno Mendes who will miss the rest of the tournament, forcing Cancelo to move into left back.

In midfield, Neves retained his place, while Matheus Nunes, Wolves record signing, and Vitinha came into midfield to get some minutes in their legs. Both players could start for the stacked Portuguese team, but there is a lot of competition, and so Santos prefers to go for more experienced players in the important games.

In attack, Cristiano Ronaldo stays up front, after an injury worry. Ricardo Horta and Joao Mario come into the front line, replacing Joao Felix and Bruno Fernandes, who are like for like in the sense that they prefer the ball to feet, but lack the directness of the former pairing.

For South Korea, Kyung-Won Kwon comes into central defence, replacing Napolis Min-Jae Kim after he is a doubt due to injury. Kang-In Lee comes into the starting lineup, after securing an assist instantly after coming off the bench against Ghana. Jae-Sung Lee also comes into the lineup, to replace Chang-Hoon Kwon. Wolves Hee-Chan Hwang came on as a sub, to score the decisive winner to send South Korea into the knockout stage of the World Cup.

Portugals dominance

One of the reasons for Portugal maintaining 55% possession was their inconsistent attempts to press the ball. At times, Portugal were outnumbered, and so would attempt to block passing channels rather than proactively chase the ball. However, on occasion, Ronaldo would successfully cut off the pitch by forcing the centre back to one side, making it easier for the rest of the Portuguese players to get tight to the Korean players, to force them to go long.

While the Portuguese press was partly