Cho Gue-sung and Mohammed Kudus recorded two goals each, but Ghana came away with the three points in stunning fashion.
After a 3–3 draw between Serbia and Cameroon, Monday proved to be a day of dramatic comebacks and wild swings—and Ghana’s 3–2 win over South Korea only continued the trend.
With plenty of World Cup survival stakes on the line, Ghana took a surprising 2–0 lead only for South Korea to bounce back with two Cho Gue-sung goals in three minutes in the second half of a thrilling contest. But Mohammed Kudus’s two goals proved to be the difference with his match-winner in the 68th minute.
According to Opta, Monday was the first time since 1990 that there were two World Cup games that recorded at least five goals on the same day.
The Koreans entered following a 0-0 draw vs. Uruguay in which chances were at a premium. Ghana, meanwhile, played a 3–2 thriller vs. Portugal, in which it walked away with nothing to show for its valiant effort against Cristiano Ronaldo & Co. Ghana would have been eliminated with a loss, but three points sends it to the top of the group alongside Portugal, who plays Uruguay later on Monday.
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South Korea came out of the gates with an attacking mentality, logging four shots in the first 10 minutes but with nothing to show for it.
The Taegeuk Warriors followed that with a series of corners in the 18th minute, which included a missed overhead kick from Son Heung-min.
In the 24th minute, Ghana scored against the run of play with its first shot of the match. Off a free kick, Jordan Ayew sent a dangerous cross into the box from the left wing that found his brother Andre Ayew. After bouncing around inside the area, the ball landed at the feet of Mohammed Salisu, who dispatched it into the net for the lead.
Ten minutes later, Ghana doubled its lead behind Kudus’s first goal. Once again, Jordan Ayew created the chance with a brilliant ball into the box that Kudus headed into goal for the 2–0 lead.
Jordan Ayew delivered another dangerous cross into the area off a corner kick in the final minute of first-half stoppage time, but Thomas Partey somehow failed to put it into the net despite being right on the goal line.
In the 53rd minute, South Korean recorded its first shot on target of the tournament, becoming the last team in Qatar to do so. Cho sent a header from close range on goal, but Ghana keeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi did well to stop it.
In the 58th minute, Cho brought one back for South Korea after Lee Kang-in, who came on as a substitute moments before, stole the ball and sent in a perfect cross.
Just three minutes later, Cho added a second goal to send the South Korean fans into a frenzy. The 25-year-old forward connected on a looping cross swung over to the back post with a powerful header to make things 2–2.
But in the 68th minute, Kudus gave Ghana the lead with his second goal of the game. After Iñaki Williams whiffed on a chance in front of goal, the ball rolled to Kudus, who stuck it past the South Korean keeper for the 3–2 lead.
Kim Jin-su saw his goalbound effort cleared off the line in the 76th minute by Salisu in a chance that nearly tied the game up once again.
Ati-Zigi came up with another massive save on a Cho shot in the 95th minute when he reacted to a near-post shot blasted by the South Korean forward. The Black Stars then withstood a series of corners and close chances to secure the three points.
Meanwhile, South Korea manager Paulo Bento was sent off after the final whistle for yelling at the referee following a corner that was not allowed to be taken after stoppage time had elapsed.
South Korea, on one point but still with a chance to advance, will now wait to face Portugal in the group finale while Ghana will face Uruguay.
Here were the lineups for both teams:
Full World Cup Squads
South Korea
GOALKEEPERS: Jo Hyeon-woo (Ulsan Hyundai), Kim Seung-gyu (Al Shabab), Song Bum-keun (Jeonbuk Motors)
DEFENDERS: Cho Yu-min (Daejon Citizen), Hong Chul (Daegu FC), Kim Jin-su (Jeonbuk Motors), Kim Min-jae (Napoli), Kim Moon-hwan (Jeonbuk Motors), Kim Tae-hwan (Ulsan Hyundai), Kim Young-gwon (Ulsan Hyundai), Kwon Kyung-won (Gamba Osaka), Yoon Jong-gyu (FC Seoul)
MIDFIELDERS: Hwang In-beom (Olympiacos), Jung Woo-young (Al Sadd), Kwon Chang-hoon (Gimcheon Sangmu), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), Lee Kang-in (Mallorca), Paik Seung-ho (Jeonbuk Motors), Son Jun-ho (Shandong Taishan)
FORWARDS: Cho Gue-sung (Jeonbuk Motors), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Hwang Ui-jo (Olympiacos), Jeong Woo-yeong (Freiburg), Na Sang-ho (FC Seoul), Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Song Min-kyu (Jeonbuk Motors)
Ghana
GOALKEEPERS: Lawrence Ati-Zigi (St. Gallen), Ibrahim Danlad (Asante Kotoko), Abdul Manaf Nurudeen (Eupen)
DEFENDERS: Joseph Aidoo (Celta Vigo), Daniel Amartey (Leicester), Abdul-Rahman Baba (Reading), Alexander Djiku (Strasbourg), Tariq Lamptey (Brighton), Gideon Mensah (Bordeaux), Denis Odoi (Club Brugge), Mohammed Salisu (Southampton), Alidu Seidu (Clermont)
MIDFIELDERS: André Ayew (Al Saad), Daniel Afriyie Barnieh (Hearts of Oak), Mohammed Kudus (Ajax), Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (St Pauli), Elisha Owusu (Gent), Thomas Partey (Arsenal), Salis Abdul Samed (Lens)
FORWARDS: Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Osman Bukari (Red Star Belgrade), Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (Sporting CP), Antoine Semenyo (Bristol City), Kamal Sowah (Club Brugge), Kamaldeen Sulemana (Rennes), Inaki Williams (Athletic Bilbao)