🇰🇷 South Korea
A final-round comeback opens the knockout door
The Qatar 2022 campaign
South Korea drew with Uruguay and lost to Ghana before beating Portugal 2–1. Four points, the same goal difference as Uruguay and more goals scored secured second place in Group H. Brazil's four-goal first half then settled the round-of-16 tie. The campaign's decisive success was turning the last group fixture into a qualification result.
Reading the record
South Korea recorded 1 win, 1 draw and 2 defeats across 4 matches, scoring 5 goals and conceding 8. FIFA’s match summaries record 18 attempts on target from 49 total attempts during their campaign.
Shoot-outs decide which team advances, but their kicks are excluded from the goal totals above. Matches decided on penalties count as draws in this win–draw–loss record; extra-time goals count towards the match score.
Matches to revisit
Portugal is the qualification turning point; Brazil shows how quickly the knockout stage presented a different challenge.
Final Group H standings
South Korea finished second with 4 points. The top two teams advanced to the round of 16.
| Team | P | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| South Korea | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Uruguay | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Ghana | 3 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 3 |
The route, match by match
- 24 Nov · Group H
Uruguay 0–0 South Korea ↗
No breakthrough in the Group H opener
Education City Stadium · 16:00 Qatar time
Match context & statistics - 28 Nov · Group H
South Korea 2–3 Ghana ↗
Ghana find a winner after South Korea recover
Education City Stadium · 16:00 Qatar time
Match context & statistics - 2 Dec · Group H
South Korea 2–1 Portugal ↗
South Korea turn the final round in their favour
Education City Stadium · 18:00 Qatar time
Match context & statistics - 5 Dec · Round of 16
Brazil 4–1 South Korea ↗
Brazil decide the tie with four first-half goals
Stadium 974 · 22:00 Qatar time
Match context & statistics
Sources and method
FIFA’s complete Qatar 2022 match-report hub ↗
Campaign totals are calculated from South Korea’s match results and the individual FIFA statistical reports linked on each match page. The overview is an editorial retrospective by Qatar22 Editorial.