Portugal may know they are guaranteed to move into the last 16 of the World Cup going into their final Group H game, but it is a do-or-die situation for South Korea.
With two wins from two, the Seleccao are playing only to top their group — a possibly insignificant prize given the identity of their potential opponents.
But there is much more at stake for the South Koreans, who are locked in a three-way battle with Ghana and Uruguay to progress.
The only way for Paulo Bento’s men to give themselves any chance of reaching the next round is to win.
Below are the projected lineups for both teams based on the latest news leading up to the match.
MORE: World Cup 2022 standings: Live updated table, points for every group in Qatar
South Korea vs Portugal lineups
Portugal boss Fernando Santos has hinted that he could leave Cristiano Ronaldo out of his team to face South Korea.
With a place in the knockout stages already assured and Ronaldo having sat out a training session ahead of the game, he may join a number of stars in missing out on a place in a rotated selection on Friday.
“Let’s see. In principle, Ronaldo will train soon,” Santos said.
“Cristiano Ronaldo was replaced in both games. There’s a plan in case Cristiano can’t play. There is no player guaranteed to play all the time. It would hardly run if we didn’t have a plan.”
South Korea projected starting 11
(4-2-3-1, right to left): 1-S. Kim (GK) — 15-M.H. Kwon, 19-Y. Kim, 4-M. Kim, 3-J. Kim — 5-Jung, 6-Hwang — 22-Kwon, 25-Jeong, 7-Son — 9-Cho
- Injured: none
- Suspended: Bento
After receiving a red card against Ghana last time out, coach Paulo Bento won’t be on the sidelines for this one.
However, he has an injury-free squad to pick from and so could stick with a similar line-up.
Portugal projected starting 11
(4-1-2-1-2, right to left): 22-Costa (GK) — 2-Dalot, 24-Antonio Silva, 4-Dias, 5-Guerreiro — 18-Neves — 6-Joao Palinha, 14-Carvalho — 10-Bernardo Silva — 9-Andre Silva, 11-Joao Felix
- Injured: Nuno Mendes, Otavio, Danilo Pereira
- Suspended: none
Santos will be forced into at least one change, with Nuno Mendes likely out of the remainder of the tournament and Raphael Guerreiro his expected replacement.
If several changes are made as expected, the likes of Diogo Dalot, Andre Silva and Joao Palinha should benefit.
MORE: World Cup 2022 Group H: Match schedule, fixtures, times and dates for Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea in Qatar
South Korea vs Portugal World Cup squads
Here are the names on South Korea and Portugal’s World Cup squad lists in Qatar (caps correct as of start of Qatar 2022):
South Korea World Cup squad
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 1 | Kim Seung-gyu | Al Shabab (KSA) | 32 | 66 |
| GK | 12 | Song Bum-keun | Jeonbuk Hyundai (KOR) | 25 | 1 |
| GK | 21 | Jo Hyeon-woo | Ulsan Hyundai (KOR) | 31 | 22 |
| DEF | 19 | Kwon Kyung-won | Gamba Osaka (JAP) | 30 | 27 |
| DEF | 15 | Kim Moon-hwan | Jeonbuk Hyundai (KOR) | 27 | 21 |
| DEF | 4 | Kim Min-jae | Napoli (ITA) | 25 | 44 |
| DEF | 19 | Kim Young-gwon | Ulsan Hyundai (KOR) | 32 | 95 |
| DEF | 3 | Kim Jin-su | Jeonbuk Hyundai (KOR) | 30 | 61 |
| DEF | 23 | Kim Taehwan | Ulsan Hyundai (KOR) | 33 | 18 |
| DEF | 2 | Yoon Jong-gyu | FC Seoul (KOR) | 24 | 3 |
| DEF | 24 | Cho Yu-min | Daejeon (KOR) | 25 | 3 |
| MID | 14 | Hong Chul | Daegu FC (KOR) | 32 | 46 |
| MID | 22 | Kwon Chang-hoon | Gimcheon Sangmu (KOR) | 28 | 41 |
| MID | 17 | Na Sang-ho | FC Seoul (KOR) | 26 | 23 |
| MID | 8 | Paik Seungho | Jeonbuk Hyundai (KOR) | 25 | 13 |
| MID | 13 | Son Jun-ho | Shandong Taishan (CHN) | 30 | 14 |
| MID | 7 | Son Heung-min | Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) | 30 | 105 |
| MID | 26 | Son Mink-yu | Jeonbuk Hyundai (KOR) | 23 | 2 |
| MID | 18 | Lee Kang-in | Mallorca (SPA) | 21 | 5 |
| FWD | 10 | Lee Jae-sung | Mainz 05 (GER) | 30 | 64 |
| FWD | 5 | Jung Wooyoung | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 32 | 66 |
| FWD | 25 | Jeon Woo-yeong | SC Freiburg (GER) | 23 | 9 |
| FWD | 6 | Hwang In-beom | Olympiacos (GRE) | 26 | 37 |
| FWD | 11 | Hwang Hee-han | Wolves (ENG) | 26 | 49 |
| FWD | 9 | Cho Gue-sung | Jeonbuk Hyundai (KOR) | 24 | 15 |
| FWD | 16 | Hwang Ui-jo | Olympiacos (GRE) | 30 | 39 |
Portugal World Cup squad
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 1 | Rui Patricio | Roma (ITA) | 34 | 104 |
| GK | 12 | Jose Sa | Wolves (ENG) | 29 | 0 |
| GK | 22 | Diogo Costa | Porto (POR) | 23 | 7 |
| DEF | 3 | Pepe | Porto (POR) | 39 | 128 |
| DEF | 5 | Raphael Guerreiro | Borussia Dortmund (GER) | 28 | 56 |
| DEF | 2 | Diogo Dalot | Manchester United (ENG) | 23 | 6 |
| DEF | 24 | Antonio Silva | Benfica (POR) | 19 | 0 |
| DEF | 4 | Ruben Dias | Manchester City (ENG) | 25 | 39 |
| DEF | 19 | Nuno Mendes | PSG (FRA) | 20 | 16 |
| DEF | 13 | Danilo Pereira | PSG (FRA) | 31 | 63 |
| DEF | 20 | Joao Cancelo | Manchester City (ENG) | 28 | 37 |
| MID | 25 | Otavio | Porto (POR) | 27 | 7 |
| MID | 6 | Joao Palhinha | Fulham (ENG) | 27 | 15 |
| MID | 8 | Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United (ENG) | 28 | 48 |
| MID | 10 | Bernardo Silva | Manchester City (ENG) | 28 | 72 |
| MID | 23 | Matheus Nunes | Wolves (ENG) | 24 | 9 |
| MID | 14 | William Carvalho | Real Betis (ESP) | 30 | 75 |
| MID | 16 | Vitinha | PSG (FRA) | 22 | 4 |
| MID | 17 | Joao Mario | Benfica (POR) | 29 | 52 |
| MID | 18 | Ruben Neves | Wolves (ENG) | 25 | 32 |
| FWD | 7 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United (ENG) | 37 | 191 |
| FWD | 21 | Ricardo Horta | Braga (POR) | 28 | 5 |
| FWD | 15 | Rafael Leao | AC Milan (ITA) | 23 | 11 |
| FWD | 11 | Joao Felix | Atletico Madrid (SPA) | 22 | 23 |
| FWD | 26 | Goncalo Ramos | Benfica (POR) | 21 | 0 |
| FWD | 9 | Andre Silva | RB Leipzig (GER) | 26 | 51 |
Credit: sportingnews.com