Will This Time Be Different... UK Sutton "Korea Wins 1-0 Against Portugal"

US Statistics Firm Predicts 9% Chance of South Korea Reaching Round of 16
Sutton Expects Uruguay to Defeat Ghana and Spain to Beat Japan

The second match of Group H in the 2022 Qatar World Cup between South Korea and Ghana was held on the afternoon of the 28th (local time) at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar. On this day, South Korea was narrowly defeated by Ghana with a score of 2-3. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Bora Lee] Chris Sutton, a commentator for the British BBC who became famous for his high accuracy during the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup, has once again predicted a victory for the South Korean national team. On the 28th (local time), Sutton posted his predicted scores for the 16 matches of the 3rd round of the 2022 Qatar World Cup group stage on the BBC website. He predicted that South Korea would win 1-0 against Portugal. Previously, Sutton had predicted a win for South Korea against Ghana, but that prediction was incorrect.

Group H, which includes the South Korean football team, will play its final group stage match on December 3rd (Korean time) at midnight. Portugal, considered the strongest in Group H, has secured advancement to the round of 16 with 2 wins (6 points). However, South Korea is facing elimination after losing 2-3 to Ghana.

There are scenarios in which South Korea can advance to the round of 16, but it is difficult to do so on their own. The American statistics company FiveThirtyEight also showed a skeptical view by estimating South Korea’s probability of advancing to the round of 16 at 9%. In this situation, South Korea must defeat Portugal to advance.

If South Korea beats Portugal and Uruguay wins against Ghana by a one-goal margin, South Korea will advance to the round of 16. If Uruguay and Ghana draw, goal difference will be considered, so South Korea must win against Portugal by a margin of 2 or more goals. Sutton said, "Portugal, having already secured advancement to the round of 16, will not want to take risks in preparation for the knockout stage," adding, "Since they have 3 more points than Ghana, they may rest some players in the match against South Korea. If Portugal makes such a decision, it will be an opportunity for South Korea." If the matches end as Sutton predicts, South Korea could dramatically advance to the round of 16, raising expectations for his remarks.

Meanwhile, Sutton predicted that Japan would fail to advance to the round of 16 after losing 1-2 to Spain. He also predicted that Uruguay would defeat Ghana 2-1.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.