Korea, Uruguay scoreless at halftime
Korea's Son Heung-min and Uruguay's Martin Caceres compete for the ball during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group H match at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar on Nov. 24. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Korea and Uruguay were scoreless in the first half of their first Group H match of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Thursday, with the South Americans striking the woodwork in late moments.
South Korea dodged a bullet when Diego Godin's header, set up by a corner in the 43rd minute, hit the bottom of the left post and rolled away from the goal.
It was the closest either team came to score in a tightly-played opening 45 minutes at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, just west of Doha.
South Korean captain Son Heung-min, still recovering from facial fractures, got the start wearing his now-signature black protective mask.
South Korea had their best look in the 34th minute, with Hwang Ui-jo airmailing a shot on an open chance after Kim Moon-hwan's low cross found him alone near the penalty mark.
The match's first shot attempt came off the foot of Uruguay midfielder Federico Valverde, whose volley sailed over the net following a long pass from Jose Maria Gimenez.
Ball possession numbers were almost dead even, while Uruguay had four shot attempts to South Korea's two. (Yonhap)