South Korea v Portugal predictions: Portugal to pick off Korea after the break

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for South Korea v Portugal in World Cup Group G on Friday.

Where to watch

BBC One, 3pm Friday

Best bet

Draw-Portugal double result
1pt 15-4 bet365, BoyleSports, Hills

Portugal have gone in level at the break in their two wins in Qatar and as the game gets stretched in the second half they could well complete the hat-trick against South Korea.

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Match preview

Portugal can enjoy their final Group H encounter having already booked their place in the round of 16, although they still should be too strong for a fairly limited South Korean outfit.

The Koreans have to win and hope Ghana don't beat Uruguay to have any chance of progressing. And while the same sense of urgency isn't afflicting Portugal, they will be wary of messing this up and sleepwalking into a potential last-16 clash with Brazil.

In any case, there's too much class in the Portuguese ranks and too many targets to aim for. Bruno Fernandes, for example, might fancy a dart at the Golden Boot after his brace against Uruguay while Cristiano Ronaldo simply craves immortality.

They are arguably a better side without the 37-year-old these days so if Ronaldo is rested or not fit enough to feature – he missed training earlier in the week - Portugal would not necessarily be any weaker.

With that in mind, take the Portuguese to manage this match as well as they did in their showdown with Uruguay and back the Draw-Portugal double result at 15-4.

It's a bet which has already copped twice in Qatar and we've seen the huge disparity between the amount of goals scored in the first and second half throughout the tournament.

The other option is to take the 11-10 about the second half producing most goals. In Groups A to D, six of the eight final-round matches featured more goals after the break as the stakes got higher, more risks needed to be taken and, of course, benefiting from the outrageous amount of stoppage time.

And South Korea need to take risks with just one point to show for their efforts.

They did okay in an opening 0-0 draw against Uruguay, something of a non-event of a game. Against Ghana they had to throw the kitchen sink at the Africans given they were behind for 76 actual playing minutes of the match, hence their tally of 22 shots and 13 corners.

Head coach Paulo Bento is suspended for his outburst against referee Anthony Taylor over the timing of the English arbiter's final whistle in that game, so Sergio Costa will patrol the pitch side.

Portugal will approach this professionally and a midfield containing Ruben Neves and Bernardo Silva are likely to be far too authoritative, though it wouldn't look much weaker if Santos decided to hand Joao Palhinha or Joao Mario a start.

If Portugal's stars get the space to exploit as the game wears on and Korea take risks, the favourites could quite easily win with something to spare.

Key stat

All seven goals in Portugal's two games have been scored in the second half.

Team news

South Korea
Napoli centre-back Min-jae Kim missed training on Wednesday. Wolves' Hee-chan Hwang appears to have recovered from a hamstring injury.

Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo missed training on Thursday. Nuno Mendes, Danilo and Otavio are injured.

Probable teams

South Korea (4-2-3-1) Seung-gyu Kim; Moon-hwan Kim, Min-jae Kim, Young-gwon Kim, Tae-hwan Kim; Yu-min Cho, In-beom Hwang; Kang-in Lee, Woo-yeong Jeong, Heung-min Son; Gue-sung Cho.

Portugal (4-3-1-2) Diogo Costa; Joao Cancelo, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Raphael Guerreiro; Bernardo Silva, Ruben Neves, William Carvalho; Bruno Fernandes; Joao Felix, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Inside info

South Korea

Top scorer in probable team Heung-Min Son
Star player Heung-Min Son
Penalty taker Heung-Min Son
Assist ace Kang-In Lee
Set-piece aerial threat Min-Jae Kim
Card magnet Woo-Yeong Jeong

Portugal

Top scorer in probable team Cristiano Ronaldo
Star player Bruno Fernandes
Penalty taker Cristiano Ronaldo
Assist ace Bruno Fernandes
Set-piece aerial threat Cristiano Ronaldo
Card magnet Card magnet

South Korea v Portugal Bet Builder

Woo-Yeong Jeong to be shown a card
The Korean midfielder was booked three times in qualifying and picked up another yellow card against Ghana.

Over 4.5 South Korea corners
The Koreans need to take risks and racked up 13 corners as they chased the game against Ghana.

Second half to have the most goals
All seven goals in Portugal's matches and three of five in Korea's have come after the break.

Price guide 14-1

Match information

Stadium Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
Fifa rankings South Korea 28, Portugal 9
Weather 32C Sunny

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