Kim Min-jae (26, Naples), the nucleus of Bentuho's defense, who advanced to the World Cup round of 16 after 12 years, thanked his teammates, saying, "It was harder to see from the outside."
The Korean national soccer team, led by coach Paulo Bento, won 2-1 in the last 3rd match of Group H of the 2022 Qatar World Cup group stage against Portugal held at the Education City Stadium in Arrayyan, Qatar on the morning of the 3rd (Korean time).
Korea, which drew 0-0 in its first match with Uruguay and then lost to Ghana 2-3, now has 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss (4 points, 4 points, 4 concessions), and is in second place in Group H following Portugal (2 wins, 1 loss). Above, the 1st and 2nd places in each group will advance to the Round of 16 stage.
Kim Min-jae, who was unable to play in the aftermath of an injury to his right calf in the game against Uruguay in the first game, said in a post-match broadcast interview, "I am grateful that the players have done so well," and said, "It was an experience that cannot be expressed in words."
He continued, "I'm really proud of it. Now we have to prepare for the next game."
Bentuho's built-in center back Kim Min-jae explained, "If I can't play 100%, I just decided not to run. It's good to have a sense of responsibility, but I thought it was important to trust other players." I cried
Kim Min-jae confessed, “Especially (Kwon) Kyung-won cheered his brother a lot,” and “It was harder to watch outside than running.”
Yet "
With this victory, Korea advanced to the round of 16 at the World Cup for the first time in 12 years since the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
Including the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, which wrote the legend of the semifinals, which was the best performance ever, it passed the group stage of the World Cup finals for the third time.
(Photo = Yonhap News)