By last and no means least, or perhaps it is, the culmination of Group H in which it was a battle to see who would be joining the highly rated Belgium side in the second round.
Belgium 1-0 South Korea
- Arena de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo – Attendence 61,397
- Referee – Ben Williams
- Belgium goal – Vertonghen (77)
- Bookings – Jeong-Ho, Dembele
- Sending off – Defour
Marc Wilmots, with a keen eye on the knockout rounds, benched Axel Witsel and Toby Alderweireld who were each on a yellow card.
Chelsea’s serial loanee striker Romelu Lukaku did not feature either but that was more due to lack of performance which saw Evertonian Kevin Mirallas play alone up front. This match represented a chance for Belgium to get into gear before the elimination games. Pressure was on South Korea to alter those plans in order qualify themselves.
As Belgium have exhibited in their other games, they started out slowly. Even with an altered starting line up they struggled in the opening exchanges and still have yet to find that level of play their reputation proceeds. South Korea looked to go into this one with no fear knowing that they could not rely on the other result to determine their success.
The key talking point going into halftime was Stefen Defour’s straight red after a two footed challenge that saw the Porto man head for an early bath. The second half began with changes as the ten men of Belgium needed a re-shuffle. Lee Keun-Ho and Kim Bo Kyung entered the game in an attempt to capitalise on their extra man advantage. Nacer Chadli and Divock Origi were introduced to add extra firepower to a relatively ineffectively Belgian front line.
Once again Wilmotts substitutes paid dividends as minutes later an error from South Korea keeper Kim Seung-Gyu, as her parried Origi’s shot straight to the feet of Jan Vertonghen (who was marginally offside), slotted home to give The Red Devils a win that sees them top the group and set up a date with the USA in the first knockout round.
Algeria 1 –1 Russia
- Arena Da Baixada, Curitiba – Attendance: 39,310
- Referee – Cüneyt Çakir
- Algeria goal – Slimani (60)
- Russia goal – Kokorin (5)
- Bookings – Kombarov, Kozlov, Mesbah, Ghilas
Algeria looked to carry on the momentum from their monumental victory over South Korea into securing qualification for themselves for the very first time.
For a long while it appeared as though Fabio Capello would be taking his Russia side into the second round. However it would be Vahid Halillhodzic’s Desert Foxes who would be celebrating come the final whistle.
Algeria were confident knowing that a draw would have seen them through to the last sixteen, but they found themselves a goal down inside siz minutes when Dmitri Kombarov’s pin point cross found Kokorin’s head to put the Russian’s in front. Algeria toiled for the rest of the half trying to find an equaliser but struggled to break down a well organised defence, however they looked at times like a team who had used all the goals they were going to score in their last game.
A similar second half saw only one change as Denisov replaced Glushakov. Mbolhi was the first goalkeeper called into action in the second half, making an excellent stop to deny Aleksandr Samedov within two minutes of the restart. Both Russian full backs were booked in the wake of some excellent attacking football from the flanks and they struggled to cope whilst giving away an unnecessary freekick in the process.
Igor Akinfeev was unable to cut out Brahimi’s free kick and could only watch as Slimani rose highest to head home a deserved equaliser and a second goal in this years finals. The game was reaching a dramatic climax, Aleksandr Kerzhakov tested Mbolhi with a low drive with twenty to go, then Kokorin saw a shot blocked soon after as Russia sought the goal they needed to continue their interest in the tournament.
It just was not to be for the Russians so it was Algeria who were celebrating their first qualification from the group stages of a World Cup.
Looking Ahead
Belgium will be confident heading into the second round game against the United States, but still need to pick up their game to that next level. The US will provide a tough challenge as two of the less favoured teams who have surprised people in the group stages. Marc Willmotts will be happy knowing he is only without Stefan Defour through suspension.
Algeria will be happy with their performances so far but they will also be looking to step up and make a huge statement by knocking out heavily favoured Germany. Nobody will favour the African side so they will have nothing to lose and should be proud of their campaign regardless of the result.
Final Standings
| Position | Team | Played | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | Algeria | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Russia | 3 | -1 | 2 |
| 4 | South Korea | 3 | -3 | 1 |
