At the Education City Stadium, Ghana defeated South Korea 3-2 in a thrilling five-goal match to advance to the World Cup 2022 Group H. South Korea’s valiant comeback was in vain.
Despite being under pressure for the majority of the first half, Ghana scored two goals before halftime through Salisu and Kudus.
After Kudus’ second goal of the game settled a thrilling contest, South Korea head coach Paulo Bento was dismissed at the final whistle for criticising referee Anthony Taylor over a corner that they had no time to take. South Korea did come back with a bang, however, thanks to two headers from Cho Gue-sung.
South Korea were punished for failing to convert a string of corners in the opening exchanges—seven in just 17 minutes, with Son Heung-min trying and failing to connect with a bicycle kick shortly after the final one—ironically from a set-piece.
In the 24th minute, Ghana was given a free kick on the left side of the field. Jordan Ayew sent in an inviting inswinging ball that South Korea failed to stop, and Salisu was the first to pounce on the loose ball and score.
Replays revealed that Andre Ayew’s hand had touched the ball before it reached the Southampton defender, but the goal was still given despite a VAR review, giving Otto Addo’s team the lead against all odds.
After South Korea couldn’t stop Jordan Ayew’s inswinging cross from the left, Kudus snuck in to meet his compatriot’s inch-perfect delivery and steer a deft header into the back of the net in the 34th minute, giving Ghana a 2-0 lead.
South Korea had a lot of shots on goal and had the majority of the possession, but they were still trailing by two goals at the half. However, early in the second half, they managed to get their first shot on goal at the 2022 World Cup.
In the 53rd minute, Cho launched a strong header goalward, but Lawrence Ati-Zigi saved it for the cameras by leaping high to his right and palming the ball away. But in the 58th minute, Lee Kang-in crossed from the left for Cho to take another shot, and the 24-year-low old’s header flashed past Ati-Zigi and into the goal. Bento’s team would make a nearly identical delivery count..
Three minutes later, Cho scored another header to pull South Korea even. Kim Jin-su had done well to keep the ball in play and cross from the byline, and Cho leaped highest to cut Ghana’s two-goal lead in half.
When Inaki Williams mishandled Gideon Mensah’s low cross from the left in the 68th minute, the ball ended up in the path of Kudus, who side-footed in his second goal of the game, sending the South Korean contingent in the crowd from joy to despair.
Salisu cleared Kim Jin-su’s attempt off the line in the 76th minute, shortly after Lee Kang-in’s goal-bound free kick was stopped by Ati-Zigi’s low save. A goal-filled game showed no signs of slowing down in the closing stages.
The second half was extended by no less than 10 minutes, during which South Korea, unsurprisingly, did the majority of the attacking in their desperate attempt to score another equaliser.
After the ball went out for a South Korea corner and Lee Kang-last-second in’s shot flew over the crossbar, Taylor blew his whistle, which enraged Bento and earned the Portuguese-born coach a red card for his protests.
Before Salisu gave Ghana the lead in the 24th minute, South Korea had a strong start to the game and appeared more likely to score. South Korea’s defence was unable to stop a dangerous free kick that Jordan Ayew sent into the six-yard box. The ball came loose, and Salisu was the first to react and score. Kudus then added a second goal for Ghana with a glancing header from another Jordan Ayew cross.
Early on in the second half, South Korea launched a comeback. Cho scored two headers just after the hour mark, but they were only tied for seven minutes before Kudus finished brilliantly to notch his own hat trick past Kim Seung-gyu. Despite South Korea’s best efforts, Ghana wins 3-2 and earns all three points.
With three points, Ghana is currently second in Group H ahead of their Friday match against Uruguay, while South Korea is last with just one point ahead of their match against Portugal in four days.
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