On the night of November 28th, at 21:00 GMT, a star-studded contest kicked off in the second round of the World Cup Group H group stage. The South Korean men's soccer team took on fellow underdogs Ghana. South Korea is ranked 28th in the world soccer map, while Ghana is ranked 60th. On paper, South Korea seems to have a winning hand.
However, the game did not always go as expected. The first half started with a bang as Salisu skillfully capitalized on the chaos to open the scoring for Ghana, followed by a pinpoint header from Kudus to extend the lead and give Ghana a 2-0 lead.
In the second half, Ziggy played a valiant game to keep the goal intact and managed to neutralize the threat of Cao Guicheng's header. Cho scored twice in just three minutes to level the score at 2-2, but Kudus' second goal of the game once again put Ghana into the lead. In the end, Korea lost 2-3, ending their two-game unbeaten streak in the World Cup. With only one point from two matches, Korea's prospects for qualification are overshadowed.
It is worth mentioning that a focal point player for Chinese fans, Son Junho, failed to get a chance to play. He sat alone on the bench, ignored by South Korean manager Paulo Bento. Throughout the game, Son Junho was never called upon and became a spectator on the Korean pitch. The central midfielder is currently playing for Shandong Luneng Taishan in the Chinese Super League.
Son Jungho has been called up by the Korean Football Association for this year's World Cup, becoming the second player from the Chinese Super League to play in the World Cup after Bassogo. Basogo currently plays for Shanghai Shenhua. In the critical moment of the title race, this change in the Korean team is undoubtedly a huge blow to Shandong Luneng, and may even affect Luneng's title race in the season.
It was thought that the call-up by the Korean Football Association meant that Son Junho would have a chance to shine on the World Cup stage, however...
