World Cup Group H guide: Portugal could struggle
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World Cup Group H guide and odds
The 2022 World Cup is under way and Ladbrokes have produced guides on all eight groups to put you in the picture for the tournament.
You can read all the latest on England and Wales as we provide odds and features on the two nations and also have the latest World Cup winner odds.
Our World Cup Group H guide covers Portugal, Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea as we take a look at all four nations, dark horses, players to watch and a prediction on where they will finish in the group.
Portugal are 8/13 favourites to top the group and 14/1 to win the tournament for the first time, but let’s look at their prospects and those of their rivals.
Portugal
Qatar could well prove to be the last international tournament for 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored a world record 117 goals for Portugal in 191 appearances.
An immensely talented squad failed to qualify automatically for the World Cup after Serbia scored a last-minute winner in Lisbon in the final group game, but they were given a large slice of luck in the play-offs.
Portugal beat Turkey 3-1 and were expected to face Italy for a place at the finals, but North Macedonia pulled off their greatest win to give the Selecao an easier route to the World Cup.
The 2016 European champions are making their sixth successive World Cup appearance but have not advanced beyond the round of 16 in the last three editions and a tough group at Euro 2020 saw them knocked out by Belgium in the first knockout stage.
Head coach: Fernando Santos, Portugal’s most successful and longest-serving coach, has been dabbling with a 4-3-3 formation instead of his favoured 4-4-2 to cram all of his attacking options into the starting line-up. Diogo Jota started in a 4-2-3-1 system for the 1-0 Nations League defeat by Spain in their final warm-up game, but the Liverpool attacker is out of the World Cup with a calf injury.
Players to watch: Since 2006, it was simply a case of naming Ronaldo as the leading light, but an underwhelming season at his former club Manchester United means more is expected from their other attackers like Joao Felix and Rafael Leao in the absence of Jota, supported by a midfield comprising Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes.
Fixtures:
Ghana: Nov 24, 16.00, Stadium 974, Doha, Lusail, ITV
Uruguay: Nov 28, 19.00, Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail, ITV
South Korea: Dec 2, 15.00, Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, BBC
World Cup Group H winner odds: 8/13
Verdict: The absence of Jota will be keenly felt, but although they have a deep squad capable of winning the World Cup, they failed to gel in the last two major tournaments.
Prediction: Should qualify as group winners, but Portugal are unpredictable and it would not be a surprise if they needed a result to qualify for the knockout stage where they could face Serbia again. Round of 16 exit.
Uruguay
Oscar Tabarez was sacked after 15 years in charge of the national team following a 3-0 defeat by 10-man Bolivia during qualification for the World Cup.
A fourth successive defeat meant Uruguay dropped to seventh in the group and led to the appointment of Diego Alonso, who won the four remaining games to ensure a fifth successive appearance at the finals.
Uruguay have history with group opponents Ghana, the nation they beat in the 2010 quarter-finals when Luis Suarez was sent off for handling on the line in the last seconds of extra time only for Asamoah Gyan to shave the crossbar with the final kick of the game. La Celeste went on to lose 3-2 to the Netherlands in the semis.
Four years ago in Russia they topped an easy group with a perfect record, but an Edinson Cavani double against Portugal secured a last-eight clash with eventual champions France which they lost 2-0 courtesy of goals from Raphael Varane and Antoine Griezmann.
Veteran strikers Cavani and Luis Suarez, now with Valencia and Nacional respectively, are still regulars but are unlikely to be working in tandem for a Uruguay team that lost 1-0 to Iran in their penultimate friendly, a result which will have set alarm bells ringing.
Head coach: Diego Alonso has had coaching spells in his native Uruguay, Paraguay and Mexico, and was the inaugural head coach of David Beckham’s Inter Miami CF for just over a year until he left in January last year. This is Alonso’s first job coaching a national team.
Players to watch: Alonso has plenty of veterans to choose from like Suarez, Cavani, Diego Godin and Fernando Muslera, but the new breed of player like Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde, Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez and Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur are the ones most likely to make an impact.
Fixtures:
South Korea: Nov 24, 13.00, Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, BBC
Portugal: Nov 28, 19.00, Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail, ITV
Ghana: Dec 2, 15.00, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, BBC
World Cup Group H winner odds: 9/5
World Cup group qualifying odds: 2/5
Verdict: Aside from the defeat by Iran and goalless draw with USA, Alonso has won seven of his nine games in charge and they have the chance to win this group in what will be the last tournament for many of these players.
Prediction: Finish top and they can potentially avoid a meeting with Brazil in the last 16 where either Serbia or Switzerland are likely to await. Round of 16 if they finish runner-up in the group.
Ghana
The Black Stars reached three successive World Cup finals from 2006, but missed out on Russia after winning just one of their six group games and last year embarrassingly failed to reach the last 16 in the Africa Cup of Nations, finishing bottom of their group behind Gabon and Comoros with just one point.
However, they are back on the international stage again after beating Nigeria on the away-goals rule thanks to Thomas Partey’s crucial 10th-minute goal.
We love to see it 😁🇬🇭 https://t.co/BGvmCpO3TT
— 🇬🇭 Black Stars (@GhanaBlackstars) October 7, 2022
Ghana have been successful in convincing a handful of players to switch allegiances like Brighton’s Tariq Lamptey and Athletic Bilbao’s Inaki Williams, although Chelsea midfielder Callum Hudson-Odoi and Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah have both turned down the chance to represent the Black Stars. Southampton centre-back Mohammed Salisu also recently made his debut in a 3-0 defeat by Brazil.
Skipper Andre Ayew believes “everything is in place for a successful World Cup” and that Ghana have “a chance” of reaching the knockout stage for the third time in their history, but it will be tough, especially with the youngest squad of all 32 nations.
Head coach: Otto Addo spent his playing career in his native Germany where he scored 11 goals in 75 appearances for Dortmund between 1999-2005. Accepted his first managerial role in February when Milovan Rajevac was sacked after Ghana’s dismal AFCON campaign.
Players to watch: Arsenal’s Partey and Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus make up a strong midfield, while Lamptey’s pace will prove troublesome for any defence if selected. Williams, who has previously represented Spain, is a real coup though.
Fixtures:
Portugal: Nov 24, 16.00, Stadium 974, Doha, Lusail, ITV
South Korea: Nov 28, 13.00, Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, BBC
Uruguay: Dec 2, 15.00, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, BBC
World Cup Group H winner odds: 10/1
World Cup group qualifying odds: 5/2
World Cup odds: 250/1
Verdict: The new additions should help Ghana be more competitive and they could be one of the teams to spring a surprise.
Prediction: Could reach the knockout stage in what is expected to be a fiercely-contested group.
South Korea
South Korea qualified for their 10th successive World Cup finals by finishing runners-up to Iran, although they made it with two games to spare having ended their campaign 11 points clear of the third-placed UAE.
Since reaching the semi-finals at the 2002 World Cup they co-hosted with Japan 20 years ago, the Taeguk Warriors have made it to the knockout stage just once (2010) and they will be pinning their hopes on Son Heung-min to get them out of a group that could cause a few surprises.
Son scored a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Costa Rica in an international friendly in September and four days later scored the only goal of the game against Cameroon, but heads to Qatar having not played since undergoing surgery to repair a fractured eye socket.
The quality of opposition South Korea face during qualifying means they have a big gulf to overcome when they reach the finals, so they will be relying heavily on their European-based players to put in some big performances.
Head coach: Former Portugal coach Paulo Bento has dabbled with various formations during his four years in charge and is often accused of being too cautious.
Players to watch: Son is their only world-class player, but Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan could have a say, while Fenerbahce defender Kim Min-jae is a force to be reckoned with at the back.
Fixtures:
Uruguay: Nov 24, 13.00, Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, BBC
Ghana: Nov 28, 13.00, Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, BBC
Portugal: Dec 2, 15.00, Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, BBC
World Cup Group H winner odds: 11/1
World Cup group qualifying odds: 5/2
World Cup odds: 250/1
Verdict: Similar odds to Ghana, but the Africans seem to have a much better squad.
Prediction: Fourth in the group.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
