Like every group in the 2022 World Cup, Group H is full of stars. But what makes this group unique is the spectrum of stars that will take the field, as if one is walking through a museum of the world’s best, decade by decade. Few players in the world are as well-known (or opined about) as Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo, as he tries to bring Portugal its first World Cup trophy in what very well could be his last appearance in this tournament. Similarly, veteran striker Luis Suarez looks to win the trophy for Uruguay but has not made it past the quarterfinals since Suarez made a name for himself in 2010.
Then, there is South Korea’s Son Heung-min, who is one of the world’s best, excellent in the world’s top league with Tottenham. No matter South Korea’s performance, Son is sure to be one of the most talked about players in the tournament due to his bubbling personality and ability to take over a game all by himself. And finally, there's Darwin Nunez, the Uruguayan striker finds himself in a similar position to Suarez in 2010. He's a budding young star who had a slow start to his Liverpool tenure, but has begun to show the world exactly what he is capable of. Qatar is the best opportunity to prove to the entire world what his club and country believe: He can be one of the world’s best.
And of course, there is Ghana. Yes, it may be the lowest-ranked country in the tournament. But if you think you will easily dispatch Thomas Partey and the rest of the squad, go back to the highlights from 2006 and 2010 where United States fans had their hearts broken twice by the African nation.
FIFA Rankings
(as of October 6, 2022)
Portugal, 9
Uruguay, 14
Korea Republic, 28
Ghana, 61
Populations
(according to World Population Review)
South Korea: 51,371,903
Ghana: 33,512,935
Portugal: 10,269,500
Uruguay: 3,501,925
World Cup History
Portugal
2022 is Portgual’s sixth straight and eighth overall World Cup appearance. Its first time in the World Cup was in 1966 when it came in third place, which is still its highest finish to date. Since winning the Euros in 2016, Portugal has done little on the international stage, losing to group-mate Uruguay in the Round of 16 of the last World Cup.
Uruguay
2022 will be Uruguay’s 13th World Cup overall and fourth straight appearance. The small nation hosted and won the inaugural tournament in 1930, winning again in 1950. In the 21st century, its best finish was the 2010 semifinals, which it made behind a young Suarez and Edison Cavani. After its trip to the semifinals in South Africa, the club has not made it past the quarterfinals, including a loss to 2018 champions France in the final eight.
South Korea
South Korea has appeared in every World Cup since 1986 but has made it past the group stage just twice in that span. Its best finish came in 2002 when it made it to the semifinals, co-hosting that year with Japan. It has not made it past the group stage in the past two tournaments, even though it did have an impact in 2018, knocking defending champions Germany out of the group stage with a 2-0 win.
Ghana
A familiar United States foe, Ghana is making its fourth-ever World Cup appearance. Its highest finish was in 2010 when it lost in the quarterfinals to group-mate Uruguay. A controversial handball from Suarez kept out a goal and led to Ghana’s elimination, propelling Uruguay to the semifinals. That narrative will surely make this one of the most anticipated matchups of the 2022 group stage. Absent from the tournament in 2018, this will be Ghana’s first appearance in eight years.
How they got here
Portugal
Although ranked No. 9 in the world, Portugal did not qualify with ease. With a draw to the Republic of Ireland and a loss to UEFA Group A winner Serbia, it needed to qualify through European qualifying playoffs. In the playoff, Portugal cemented its spot in the tournament via a 3-1 win over Turkey and a 2-0 over North Macedonia.
Uruguay
Uruguay was at major risk of missing its first World Cup since 2006. After losing four qualifiers in a row, it sacked Oscar Tabarez who had been at the helm for the past 15 years. It brought in former Inter Miami manager Diego Alonso to revitalize the struggling side and won its first four games under him. Ultimately, Uruguay finished third in CONMEBOL, only behind Brazil and Argentina.
South Korea
South Korea is making its 10th straight World Cup appearance, comfortably clinching its automatic bid in February with a win over Syria. It finished only behind Iran and Japan in the overall Asian Football Confederation standings.
Ghana
After a highly disappointing Africa Cup of Nations tournament last time around, Ghana looks to find momentum from its dramatic qualifying win. It brought back 2010 manager Milovan Rajevac in hopes of finding similar success to the team's 2010 World Cup run. Instead, it failed to advance out of the AFCON group stage and lost to No. 132 Comoros, who was playing its first continental tournament. Sacking Rajevac, it hired former national team winger Otto Addo before the final round of qualifying. Topping Group G in the second round of qualifying, it faced off against Nigeria in a third-round playoff match. Although both legs ended in draws, Partey’s goal on the road clinched the World Cup spot for Ghana due to the FIFA away goals tiebreaker. Ghana will make its first World Cup appearance since 2014.
The cast of characters
Portugal
If you follow Manchester soccer, you’re bound to know almost half of the Portuguese lineup. Making his fifth World Cup appearance, Portugal is once again led by team talisman Cristiano Ronaldo. While he is still a maestro around the goal, his playmaking skills have dwindled with age. Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes will look to play a bigger role in this World Cup than he has in years past. Alongside him is Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, who will play a similar playmaking role as Fernandes. But that’s not all from Manchester, as two of Silva’s teammates, Joao Cancelo and Ruben Dias, are in the backline. Beyond Manchester, Wolves star Ruben Neves will also feature in the starting lineup.
Uruguay
In 2010, it was a young Suarez playing behind the veteran Diego Forlan. Now it is Suarez who is guiding a rising star in Nunez, who coincidentally plays for the Liverpool team for which Suarez once plied his trade. After a 26-goal campaign for Benfica last season, Liverpool acquired Nunez for a massive sum. His goalscoring skills are imperative for Uruguay to have success. Besides Suarez, veterans such as Cavani and Diego Godin are also a part of the roster. Other young talents such as Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde and Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur will be surveying the Uruguayan midfield. MLS fans may recognize names such as Los Angeles Galaxy defender Martin Caceres and Orlando City attacker Facundo Torres, who will rep the Celeste.
South Korea
There are stars, there are superstars and then there’s Son. The face of Korean soccer is not just the biggest soccer star in his country or continent, he is arguably one of the biggest soccer stars in the world. And yet, South Korea does have other players playing in the top leagues. Hwang Hee-chan is enjoying his second season with EPL’s Wolverhampton Wanderers and Napoli center-back Kim Min-jae is enjoying one of his best seasons.
Ghana
Ghana is led by a trio of EPL players. Arsenal’s Partey, Crystal Palace’s Jordan Ayew, and Leicester City defender Daniel Amartey. Out of the three, Partey is by far the team’s star and his play is the biggest determining factor to Ghana’s hopes of advancing. Through Andre Ayew (yes, Jordan's brother) will also be featured on the roster, he's not quite in his prime but still adds World Cup experience and leadership to the roster. Finally, earlier this summer, Valencia-born Inaki Williams and British-born Tariq Lamptey, who plays for Brighton, reclassified their nationalities and will now represent Ghana at the World Cup. Expect that duo to be in the starting lineup.
A name to remember (Who might not be on your radar)
If you are Portuguese or a fan of the Portuguese national team, you may already know who I am about list under this category. Paulo Bento has been the manager of South Korea’s national team since 2018. From Portugal, Bento played for two of the top teams in the country, Benfica and Sporting CP, and represented Portugal at the 2000 Euros and 2002 World Cup (which happened to be in South Korea). After his playing career Bento managed Sporting CP for four years, winning sixty percent of his games, and then left the club for … the Portuguese national team.
Taking over in 2010 after the World Cup, Bento led Portugal to a 4-0 win over Spain in November, just a few months after Spain won the World Cup. Under him, Portugal made the 2012 Euros semifinals and qualified for the 2014 World Cup. Due to not making it out of the group stage in Brazil and a slow start to the 2016 Euros qualifiers, Bento was sacked.
Even though South Korea may not be a favorite to go beyond the group stage, I imagine Bento is locked into the matchup with his native country and former team as a player and coach. Under Bento, South Korea has qualified for its 10th consecutive World Cup as well as won the 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship, defeating Japan 1-0 in the final. There is no bigger stage for South Korea to showcase its progress and for Bento to achieve sweet revenge over Portgual than the World Cup.
Phil West’s Mascot Fight Corner
Who would win in a battle royal among all four mascots?
Portugal reminds you it is traditionally a seafaring nation with Os Navegadores (the Navigators), which means they can avoid conflict, slowly, on galleons, if the wind is favorable. Ghana are the Black Stars, for the black star in the center of the Ghanian flag. Uruguay’s another color team — La Celeste, or the sky blue, not to be confused with Argentina’s Albiceleste, for while and sky blue. So far, this group is a mascot disappointment.
South Korea saves the day as Taegeuk Warriors (the Taegeuk is the yin and yang blue and red symbol on their flag, but at least they’re Warriors about it), or the Tigers of Asia. Clearly, one team out of four properly showed up for a mascot fight.
Who is most likely to advance from the group?
Strictly looking at the FIFA rankings, this group should be quite simple. Both Portugal and Uruguay should advance comfortably. But these results aren't as simple where the highest ranked teams simply advance without contest. This is the World Cup, where skill collides with passion to create an unpredictable outcome. We have discussed the possible grudge matches between Portugal and South Korea as well as Ghana and Uruguay. All teams besides South Korea faced bumps in the qualification road proving no team in this group in impenetrable. So, while Portugal and Uruguay will be favored, this group is much more interesting than the FIFA rankings show.
