Tonight and tomorrow morning, the final four group stage matches of the World Cup in Qatar will be held, with Brazil and Portugal, who have advanced to the round of 16, taking on Cameroon and South Korea respectively, while the other two focus matches are between Uruguay and Ghana, Serbia and Switzerland. The last two places in the round of 16 of the World Cup, who will go tonight, will be announced tonight.
As of this morning, 14 places have been produced in the round of 16 of the World Cup, and after Japan, Spain, Morocco and Croatia advanced, and Germany and Belgium were eliminated, tonight, the last two places in the last 16 of the World Cup will be released.
Uruguay fights Ghana
Looking at the Group H points situation, in addition to Portugal occupying a qualifying spot, Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea have theoretical hopes of qualifying.
At 23 o'clock Beijing time tonight, the life-and-death battle between Ghana and Uruguay is about to begin. In the standings, Ghana and Uruguay are both likely to qualify, and the key is who can seize the opportunity on the field and give the opponent a fatal blow.
Speaking before the match, Uruguay coach Diego Alonso said: "We understand the importance of this game and now we have hope, this team is strong and in good shape. "We are still united." ”
Suarez responded to the handball controversy at the World Cup 12 years ago before the match. In the 2010 World Cup 1/4 final in South Africa, Suarez blocked Ghana's mandatory goal with his hand in the last minute when the Uruguayan goalkeeper was already out of position, and Suarez received a red card, and Uruguay was awarded a penalty, but then the penalty was missed by Ghanaian striker Gian. The two sides ended up in a penalty shootout, with Uruguay making it a thrilling advance.
At yesterday's press conference, a Ghanaian journalist quoted fans as saying Suarez was the devil and hoped he would retire early. Suarez responded: "I will not apologize for that. I was handball, but the Ghanaian player (Gian) missed a penalty, not me. If I hurt a player, maybe I apologize, but in this case I got a red card and the referee awarded a penalty. ”
Previously, Gian said he could understand Suarez's actions to save the team, and he would have done so if it had been otherwise. "I'm a footballer and I know what this game means. Ghana was eliminated because of this, and all Ghanaian fans who watched the live broadcast did not like him. ”
"But I have always said that if I were Suarez, I would also do something like this to save my country. Others thought he was playing tricks, but he did what was supposed to help his country reach the World Cup semi-finals. ”
Commenting on the grudge 12 years ago, Uruguay coach Diego Alonso said he did not know if Ghana would take the match as revenge, but for Uruguay it was a game that decided to qualify.
Portugal draws are enough
The match between Portugal and South Korea in the same group will start at the same time.
In this match, Portugal only need to draw with South Korea to secure the first place in the group. South Korea, by contrast, must go all out to win and hope Uruguay defeats or draws Ghana, with South Korea working wonders with more goal difference.
Kim Young-kwon, the team's senior player, said: "In the first two games, the Korean team played passionately, and this game, we need to show our passion and hard work again. But we need some luck, and if we have both, we can do miracles. ”
Speaking about Ronaldo, Kim Young-kwon said Ronaldo is a world-class player and everyone knows that there are many talented players in the Portuguese squad and that in order to stop their attack, the South Korean team needs to come together.
Brazil will face Cameroon
At 3 a.m. Beijing time on December 3, the last two matches of Group G began. Brazil, where Neymar is absent, will face Cameroon. In the same group, Serbia and Switzerland will battle for another qualifying spot.
Brazil, which has won two in a row, is expected to rotate the squad in preparation for the next 1/8 knockout round. Cameroon, by contrast, has to take the initiative to qualify.
Cameroon lost 1-0 to Switzerland in the first round and drew 3-3 with Serbia after that, still holding on to the competition. Cameroon must beat Brazil in order to have a chance to qualify, which is difficult for African powerhouses to do in front of Brazil, which is a strong squad.
Switzerland vs Serbia
In the same group of Swiss and Serbia match, the Swiss team with 3 points in hand has the initiative, as long as this game draws Serbia, even if Cameroon beats Brazil in a shock, in the case of 4 points between the two teams, Switzerland will rely on the win-loss relationship to overwhelm the opponent and obtain the right to qualify.
However, it will not be easy for Switzerland to draw or defeat Serbia.
In the first round of the group stage, Serbia suffered an unfavorable schedule, and the first match of the World Cup met Brazil, and finally lost to its opponent; In the second round against Cameroon, with a 3-1 lead, Serbia was attacked twice in a row by their opponents and failed to win the match. In this game, as long as Serbia maintains the team's offensive firepower and the defensive end ensures that there are no accidents, it still has a chance to win the opponent and win the last 16 place in this World Cup.
Brazil and Portugal qualified early
There are two more tasks
Brazil and Portugal, who have already qualified early, will face the final round of the group stage. From the current news, the core of the two teams, Neymar and Ronaldo, may both be absent.
Neymar's absence is no secret. In the first round of the group stage, Neymar suffered a whopping nine violations from his opponent before being substituted due to injury and missing the match against Switzerland.
Although Brazil coach Tite has always been optimistic about Neymar's recovery from injury, according to foreign media reports, Neymar should not be able to participate in the 1/8 final, and if it goes well, he may return in the 1/4 final.
With the qualification already in advance, Brazil obviously will not rush Neymar to the field, and it is bound to allow him to recuperate well and play in the subsequent knockout rounds in good physical condition.
Portugal's core Cristiano Ronaldo could also miss the final round of the group stage due to injury. According to ESPN, Ronaldo suffered a foot injury in Portugal's 2-0 win over Uruguay in the last round. On Wednesday, Qatar local time, Ronaldo missed the team's preparation and recovery alone in the power room, so Ronaldo may also miss the final round of the group stage.
On Thursday night, Beijing time, the Portuguese Football Federation confirmed that left-back Nuno Mendes suffered a muscle injury in his left thigh and was unable to play for the national team. The Portuguese Football Federation said in the announcement that Mendes will remain at the Portuguese base in Qatar for recovery. According to Portuguese media and Romano, Mendes will miss at least two months injured and will definitely miss the rest of the World Cup.
Given the injuries in the squad, Brazil and Portugal, who have already qualified early, will most likely rotate their starting line-ups in the final round of the group stage to avoid more serious injuries. France, who also qualified two rounds early, rotated more than half of the main team in the final group game, and finally lost 0-1 to Tunisia. Of course, while preserving strength, both Brazil and Portugal will try to qualify for the top spot in the group to avoid meeting early in the quarterfinals.
In the final round of the group stage, Portugal will play South Korea on December 2 at 23:00 Beijing time, and Brazil will play against Cameroon from Africa on December 3.
(News Morning News · Thoughtful APP reporter Xu Ming, Gan Hui)