FIFA World Cup: Uruguay, South Korea spar to goalless draw
Al Rayyan/UNI: Uruguay and South Korea sparred to a scoreless draw in their opening match in the World Cup’s Group H at Education City Stadium here on Thursday.
South Koreans were a treat to watch as they displayed tireless and lively play in the first half an hour of the game when their players were everywhere pushing hard at Uruguay's defence, but despite all that, they could not score.
An unmarked Uijo Hwang, however, had a golden opportunity in the 34th minute but his one-timed shot sailed over the bar, much to the dismay of his teammates.
Another chance came for South Korea in the dying moments of the match when Son Hueng-min, recuperating from a face injury, swerved a shot wide off the mark. He however failed to be effective, even though he floated around the danger zone.
In contrast, Uruguay were more effective in the second half but missed many scoring opportunities, consistently enough. They nearly got the moment of magic that was needed to break the deadlock in the 81st minute.
Edinson Cavani trapped the ball in the box and passed it to his 23-year old teammate Darwin Nunez, who fired a header back to the old pro, who just couldn't get through.
In the 62nd minute, Uruguay had another chance when Nunez sent in a dangerous cross through the box, but South Korean keeper Seung-gyu Kim dived for his life to the shot.
In 43rd as well Uruguay missed an opportunity through Diego Godin rose high for a header toward goal, only to see it crash to the left post.
At the end of the match, the Uruguayans may have been emotionally boiling for not scoring, though the team boasts of Liverpool's Nunez and Real Madrid's Frederico Valverde.
Nevertheless, the fans of South Korea and Uruguay would not be emotionally let down by the outcome, considering pocketing a point each with Portugal awaiting them in the first round.
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