Last but not least on our World Cup group analysis, we have group H. This group includes Euro 2016 champion Portugal, two times World Cup winners Uruguay, 4 times African Cup of Nations champion Ghana and 2 times Asian Cup winner South Korea.
This is one of the most stacked groups in terms of talent from the World Cup, with all the teams boosting an incredible set of talent that competes weekly in the main European football leagues and competitions.
Plus, this is the last World Cup for Portugal legends Ronaldo and Pepe, as well as for Uruguay’s dynamic duo Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani.
Meanwhile, South Korea will be led by rising star Son Heung-Min, while Ghana will rely on the blistering pace of Jordan Ayew and Iñaki Williams.
So, who is going through to the next stage? Here is our in-depth analysis.
𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 𝙃…
HUGE names. Which player will make the difference?🤩 #FinalDraw | #FIFAWorldCup
🇵🇹 @selecaoportugal | 🇬🇭 @ghanafaofficial | 🇺🇾 @Uruguay | 🇰🇷 @theKFA pic.twitter.com/TC4r30RXA5
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) April 3, 2022
QATAR WORLD CUP 2022 GROUP H CALENDAR:
24 November 2022: Uruguay – South Korea
24 November 2022: Portugal – Ghana
28 November 2022: South Korea – Ghana
28 November 2022: Portugal – Uruguay
2 December 2022: Ghana – Uruguay
2 December 2022: South Korea – Portugal
PORTUGAL
Portugal is no longer considered to the one of the underdogs to cheer for as they were some years ago. After winning the Euro 2016 and the UEFA Nations League 2017, they must be considered as favorites as they became one of the most prolific talent factories in Europe.
So, despite still having in their ranks one of the sport’s all-time GOATs, Cristiano Ronaldo, they are no more a one-man team.
They have among their lineup one of the world’s most promising goalkeepers, Diogo Costa (save his name), one of the best 3 center-backs worldwide, Ruben Dias (Manchester City), one incredible stacked midfield, which includes Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) and Vitinha (PSG) and in the attack Serie A’s Player Of The Season, Rafael Leao.
So, what would stop them to go all the way? Well, questions have risen if their manager Fernando Santos is the right man to coach this incredible Portuguese generation. His conservative style, together with some very questionable tactical choices mid-games, might be slowing Portugal down.
Therefore, even if it looks on paper that they have probably their best squad ever, a perfect combination of youth, talent, and experience, will Santos be able to put this orchestra playing in synchrony? Portugal fans can only hope!
ClutchBuzz odds price them as the favorites to win the group at -149.
Portugal World Cup Possible Starting 11
Coach: Fernando Santos
Portugal World Cup Squad:
Fernando Santos announced the 26 chosen players on the 10th of November. Among the notables absentees, there is Diogo Jota (Liverpool), due to injury and Renato Sanches (PSG).
GHANA
After missing the 2018 World Cup, Ghana will be making its fourth appearance, having just qualified for the tournament for the first time in 2006.
Ghana competed and won group G of the qualifying with 4 victories, 1 tie, and 1 defeat. Ghana then eliminated Nigeria on away goals in the third round to get to the 2022 World Cup.
A complete renovation of the Ghana national team began with seducing players with Ghanaian roots that had no internal caps yet. One of them is Inaki Williams from Athletic Bilbao, who had already played for Spain in a friendly. His brother, Nico, took the other root and will go to the World Cup for Spain.
The Ghana national team will also include players that have Premier League pedigree, like Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace) and Thomas Partey (Arsenal).
It will be difficult to move up in this group, but the team coached by Otto Addo has enough talent to cause an upset.
ClutchBuzz odds price them to win the group at +1000.
Ghana World Cup Possible Starting 11
Coach: Otto Addo
URUGUAY
Uruguay, who have won two World Cups and 15 Copa Américas, are the second favorites to win their group and are competing in their 14th World Cup.
In the 2018 World Cup, Uruguay made it to the quarterfinals before losing to the eventual champions, France.
Uruguay finished the qualifying phase for the 2022 World Cup in third place, behind Argentina and Brazil.
Star athletes like Nacional’s Luis Suarez and Valencia’s Edinson Cavani will be giving their last dance, in what should be their last World Cup appearance.
Meanwhile, Uruguay also has a very strong defense, which counts with Real Madrid’s Valverde, Atletico Madrid’s Gimenez and Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo.
ClutchBuzz odds price them to win the group at +200.
Uruguay World Cup Possible Starting 11
Coach: Diego Alonso
Uruguay World Cup Squad:
Alonso announced the 26 players who will represent Uruguay on the 10th of November.
SOUTH KOREA
Even though South Korea might seem like the underdog in Group H, they are a significant soccer force in Asia. They attended ten World Cups, nine of them back-to-back.
South Korea is remembered for defeating Germany in the World Cup group stage in 2018 and eliminating them from the tournament. And back in 2002, they went all the way to the semifinals, which is still their best result to date.
They qualified for the World Cup after topping their group with 5 wins and 1 tie, and then finished second in the third round behind Iran with 7 wins, 2 draws, and 1 defeat.
After some doubts about his presence in the tournament due to an injury, Tottenham Hotspur star Heung Min Son has confirmed that he is ready for the World Cup. He will be the captain of the team and the source of major concern for all the opponents in Group H, as he is an incredibly gifted player.
Besides Son, South Korea will rely also on the abilities of well-known teammates such as center-back Kim Min Jae (Napoli) and Hwang Hee-Chan (Wolverhampton).
One curiosity is that the manager of South Korea, Paulo Bento, is a Portuguese coach who was the manager of the Portuguese National Team in 2014.
ClutchBuzz odds price them to win the group at +1000.
South Korea World Cup Possible Starting 11:
Coach: Paulo Bento
Final Thoughts
Even though Portugal has the weapons to walk all over the opponents in this group, we predict, as usual, Fernando Santos’s conservative tactics will slow them down.
Therefore, we believe Uruguay will repeat the feat of 2018 when they eliminated Portugal from the World Cup in the round of 16, and they will conquer all 3 points against the Portuguese.
However, Fernando Santos’ team is going through based on a win and a draw. If this is confirmed we might have a Portugal vs Brazil on the round of 16.
Be aware that despite our prediction, Ghana and South Korea have enough talent in their ranks to cause a surprise, so if you enjoy a good dark horse prediction back one of them to go through.
Credits on Featured Image: Кирилл Венедиктов, CC BY-SA 3.0 GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons
