South Korea vs Portugal Prediction and Betting Odds – 2022 World Cup: Who Will Win?

💯 South Korea vs Portugal Betting Odds

While Germany will be obvious favourites to beat Costa Rica (regardless of the match circumstances), it’s important to appraise the real-time odds to see where the value lies.

So, we’ve broken these down below across a number of markets, so hopefully you can place some truly informed wagers!

🏅 South Korea vs Portugal Odds: Match Winner

The most popular wagering market across all of our recommended betting sites involves match betting. So, here are the latest odds for Korea vs Portugal, including real-time pricing for the draw!

South Korea to Win	4.30	4.33	4.30	4.33	4.20	4.20	4.20
Portugal to Win	1.80	1.80	1.81	1.75	1.73	1.73	1.75
Draw	4.0	3.85	3.85	4.00	3.60	4.00	4.00

⚽ South Korea vs Portugal Odds : Both Teams to Score

You can also bet on both sides to score in the clash between South Korea and Portugal, or wager on one team drawing a blank in Qatar. Regardless, here are the latest, real-time odds:

Yes	4.25	1.80	1.80	1.75	1.67	1.91	1.91
No	1.18	2.00	2.00	1.95	2.10	1.91	1.91

🥅 South Korea vs Portugal Odds: Over/Under 2.5 Goals

Last, but not least, you can explore the over / under markets pertaining to the total number of goals scored in the game. Here’s the latest such prices from our recommended sportsbooks!

Over 2.5 Goals	1.80	1.87	1.80	1.75	1.85	1.80	1.80
Under 2.5 Goals	2.00	1.90	1.90	1.95	1.95	1.80	1.80

🏠 South Korea Football World Cup Preview

October’s FIFA rankings place South Korea (or the Korean Republic) as the 28th best side in the world, with his unchanged from the listings published in August.

This earmarks Korea as the third best team in the increasingly competitive AFC qualifying region, although they clearly entered FIFA Group H as the third favourites to progress for the round of 16 behind Portugal and Uruguay.

Despite this, Korea more than held their own against Uruguay in their opening World Cup game, drawing 0-0 and restricting their more illustrious opponents in attacks (although the South American side did largely dominate the ball and hit the woodwork twice).

However, a thrilling 3-2 defeat to Ghana (in which the Koreans came back from 2-0 down with two early second half headers) has left the AFC nation on the brink of elimination, unless they can beat an already qualified Portugal team and hope that Ghana don’t defeat Uruguay in the other Group H encounter.

📰 Latest South Korea World Cup News

☍ Portugal World Cup Preview

2016 European Championship winners Portugal are currently ranked ninth in the world by FIFA, which also makes them the seventh best European side.

Because of this, they were drawn from Pot 1 at the 2022 WC finals draw in Doha, making them the first side to enter Group H and affording them a relatively favourable draw (on paper at least).

This has largely proven to be the case, with Portugal emerging as 3-2 winners in their opening match in a slightly chaotic and disjointed match against Ghana. Although they were a little more dominant against a timid Uruguayan side, they still struggled to impose themselves creatively and appear to be playing within themselves early in the tournament.

Still, a point here will see them confirm top spot in Group G, and potentially avoid a difficult round of 16 clash against Brazil in the process!

📰 Latest Portugal World Cup News

🟨 South Korea vs Portugal: Latest Injury News and Suspensions

South Korea will once again start the game without forward Hwang Hee-chan, who continues to struggle with a persistent hamstring issue.

The good news is that fellow striker Cho Gue-sung scored two superb headers against Ghana last time out and led the line with true distinction, while talismanic forward Son Heung-min continues to edge closer to full fitness after his facial injury incurred prior to the World Cup finals.

The Spurs forward will also look to win his 107th cap against Portugal, while Kwon Chang-hoon is also expected to retain his place on the opposite flank.

As for the Portuguese, left back Nuno Mendes has been ruled out after suffering a first half injury against Uruguay, with Raphaël Guerreiro set to return to the starting 11 after being left out previously.

The versatile Danilo also remains sidelined with the fractured ribs he sustained during training, while fellow midfielder Otavio is also a doubt as he continues to recover from the muscle problem that kept him out of the Uruguay clash. William Carvahlo should continue in his place, with Portugal maintaining the same 4-2-3-1 shape that has served them well so far.

Despite the fact they’ve already qualified for the round of 16, Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo are expected to keep their places against Ghana, although Rafael Leao could make his first start of the tournament in place of Joao Felix.

🔑 Key Matchups

As with most matches at this type of exalted level, games are often decided by the individual player dual that take place all over the pitch.

This game will be no exception to this rule, so here’s a brief look at some of the most influential matchups and how they’ll impact the final result:

Kim Min-jae vs Cristiano Ronaldo

Portugal’s talismanic CR7 came in for some criticism against Uruguay, when he claimed his country’s opening goal despite obviously not touching Bruno Fernandes delicious cross-cum-shot on its way into the net.

Of more concern will be the forward’s relative lack of form and quality so far in Qatar, as despite his obvious presence, he looks to lack the speed and sharpness of previous years.

Still, we’re talking about the most prolific striker of modern times, and there’s no doubt that Napoli centre half Kim Min-jae will have his hands full keeping the predatory striker quiet in Doha.

Make no mistake; the quality and timing of Ronaldo’s movement is still top notch, and Kim will look to be aggressive against his opponent and look to prevent him from getting the ball into feet. The good news is that Ronaldo won’t drop too deep in pursuit of the ball, so Kim won’t have to risk straying too far out of position while looking to stay tight to Ronaldo.

Cho Gue-sung vs Ruben Dias

At the other end of the pitch, Cho Gue-sung will do battle with Manchester City’s imperious centre back Ruben Dias, while he’ll most likely have to scrap for every ball given the defenders quality and the fact that Portugal will dominate possession.

However, Cho showed incredible intensity and aerial ability against Ghana, galvanising his team with constant running, aggressive pressing and two superb headers that dragged Korea back to 2-2 from nowhere.

The second header was particularly striking, as he arrived late in the box to power home a stunning finish from a driven Kim Jin-su cross from the left.

This highlights a threat that Dias will have to look for, especially if Korea are able to get on the ball and build pressure high up the park. If the 39-year-old Pepe also remains in place as Dias’ partner at centre back, Cho could look to isolate him with direct running.

Jung Woo-young vs William Carvahlo

In the middle of the park, the returning William Carvahlo provides obvious balance and defensive cover for Portugal, while his athleticism will help him to track midfield runners and lead the counter press.

The similarly mobile and athletic Jung Woo-young will perform a similar role for Korea, and both will look to help dominate midfield and lay a foundation for their side to dominate.

Woo-young must also be wary of the presence of Ruben Neves, as if Carvahlo is able to dominate physically, he’ll create space for the Wolves playmaker and afford him the time and space to dictate when in possession.

So, he’ll have to put in a huge defensive shift and nullify both threats, otherwise Korea will find it hard to get on the ball and create chances.

⚡ South Korea vs Portugal – The Head-to-Head Statistics

When Portugal finished third at the 1966 World Cup in England, one of their most memorable matches was a group stage encounter against North Korea. The Portuguese fell 3-0 down to the minnows in a stunning first half here, before a Eusebio-inspired side recovered to ultimately beat their plucky rivals 5-3.

Interestingly, Portugal have only ever played South Korea once, although this match did come during the FIFA World Cup in 2002.

Here, the Koreans were co-hosts alongside Japan, while their clash against a Portugal side containing the legendary Luis Figo occurred during the group stages. Surprisingly, Korea won 1-0 thanks to a second-half goal by the tireless Park Ji-Sung, helping the team to make the round of 16 for the first ever time.

Incredibly, South Korea subsequently became the first AFC side to reach the semi-finals in 2002, eliminating Italy and Spain the knockout stages before losing to eventual finalists Germany in the semi-finals.

🥇 Who Will Win? South Korea vs Portugal Prediction

Korea also sprung a huge surprise by defeating Germany and eliminating them from the WC finals in 2018, and they’d love nothing more than to bloody Portugal’s nose here and keep alive their own chances of reaching the round of 16 for the second time in their history.

However, Korea lack the quality in possession to dominate a classy Portuguese outfit, while their defensive frailties when chasing the game against Ghana were exploited by direct counterattacking and accurate set-piece deliveries.

This all points to a Portugal win, and while the side could be much changed from the last outing after the Portuguese sealed their place in the round of 16, we’re backing the side to maintain their 100% record in Group H and eliminate Korea from the tournament.

Our match prediction: Portugal to win.

🔍 Our South Korea vs Portugal Betting Tips?

Portugal remain heavy, short-priced favourites to beat Korea with the bookies, but given the average price and lack of overall value, we’d avoid straight match or handicap betting where possible. Of course, you could place a token wager on Korea to win at 4.30 with TonyBet, but this is an outside punt that very much depends on Portugal’s team selection.

Otherwise, betting on both teams not to score at 2.10 with BetVictor is a viable option, as despite Korea’s need to win, we still thing the Portuguese will dominate the ball and the game.

We’d also wager on there being under 2.5 goals in the game, with this a popular a href='https://www.betinireland.ie/sports-betting/football/'>football betting market that could pay out here.

After all, neither side has proven to be prolific so far, and you can also get on this market at 2.00 with TonyBet Sport.

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✒️ Lewis Humphries - Sports Journalist, Tipster and Betting Expert

This South Korea Portugal 2022WC Prediction was written by Lewis Humphries. Lewis is a business and iGaming copywriter from the UK, who has a passion for sports betting and online casino gaming. He's reviewed some of the world's leading casino platforms, while creating blog posts and landing page content for various sports betting brands.

His content has also featured on a number of different sites, including Life Hack, Investopedia, Yahoo Finance and Business Insider. He also pens regular sports features for sites including 90 Minutes, Think Football Ideas and Sportsblog.