Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal have qualified for the knockout stages of the World Cup with the Selecao topping their group.
Portugal played their final Group H fixture against South Korea at the Education City stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar. All the eyes were on Ronaldo after he seemed frustrated for being substituted off.
Cristiano Ronaldo gets in a heated exchange with South Korean Player
After taking the lead early thanks to a Ricardo Horta goal, Portugal was in control of the game till the 27th Minute. Kim Young-gwon scored the equalizer for the Asians and kept their chances of qualifying alive. 15 minutes into the 2nd half, Santos subbed off Cristiano who seemed frustrated as he walked off the pitch.
Cristiano Ronaldo: “Oyundan çıkmadan önce, Güney Koreli bir oyuncu hemen sahadan ayrılmamı söyledi. Ben de ona susmasını söyledim. Yetkisi yok, fikir beyan etmesine de gerek yok.”
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Santos later revealed that he was insulted by South Korean player Gue-sung Cho, who wanted the Portuguese to leave the field as soon as possible.
“The player from Korea was insulting him telling him to go away, so that is the reason why he was angry, everyone saw that,” said Santos.
After the match, Ronaldo clarified by saying “The Korean player was telling me to leave quickly and I told him to shut up because he has no authority.”
Portugal eventually lost due to a last-minute goal as the forward shushed the Korean player and walked off.
Ronaldo’s team suffered their first loss in 2022 World Cup against South Korea
The Selecao had won both their Group H fixture and secured their place in the round of 16. Meanwhile, South Korea needed to score two goals and get a win to qualify over Uruguay who played Ghana in their last game.
With a deflection from Cristiano Ronaldo helping in securing their first goal, South Korea kept pushing till the last minute. After he subbed off, South Korea found an opening in the first minute of added time and Hwang Hee-chan scored the winner.
Handing Portugal their first loss of the 2022 World Cup and qualifying for the knockout stages, leaving Suarez in tears. South Korea will face Brazil in the Round of 16, while Portugal will face Switzerland.
