2022 World Cup preview: Group H

The World Cup begins in just four days! To prepare for the matches and drama that will play on the world stage, Philly Sports Network is previewing the eight groups and 32 nations competing to be champions of the world! Group H has a pesky-good side Ghana, a Portugal side with an aging superstar in Cristiano Ronaldo, a top AFC side in South Korea, and CONMEBOL giants, Uruguay!

Group H: A group for the taking, but by who?

Group H is the final group in the 2022 World Cup group stage. This Group is one that is there for the taking, but the question will be, who is going to be the nation that takes control and wins Group H?

Ghana (61st)
Portugal (9th)
South Korea (28th)
Uruguay (14th)

Ghana is back at the World Cup after missing out in 2018, Portugal should be the favorite of this group, but they only go as Ronaldo does, South Korea is ready to show what they can do, and Uruguay could be the one to take this group by force.

Ghana make it back to the World Cup after missing out in 2018.

Ghana is back at the men’s World Cup after missing out the last time around. Ghana only lost once in World Cup qualifying and beat mighty Nigeria after scoring an away goal to advance to the 2022 men’s World Cup. Now they look to make the most of their opportunity and make a run to the knockout rounds.

The Ghanaians only have a 26.1% chance of making the knockout rounds, but they tend to always make a run to the knockout rounds when they make the World Cup. Three of the last four times Ghana’s been at the World Cup, they’ve made the knockout rounds. In the 2022 edition of the tournament, they’ll have a good feeling about whether or not they can make it after their first match.

Ghana takes on Portugal in their first game which takes place on the fifth day of the tournament. Getting a win in that match would make Ghana feel very good about their knockout chances; however, a loss will just about doom them.

Can Ronaldo drag Portugal to the promised land?

Portugal is the highest-ranked team in Group H. Their rank of ninth in the world probably has to do with their superstar captain Cristiano Ronaldo. As Ronaldo goes, so too does Portugal. This has been for good and for bad. In World Cup qualifying Portugal had to go through the UEFA playoffs. They beat Turkey, and North Macedonia to get to the World Cup. Will this be enough to get them through Group H?

Portugal has the best odds to get out of the group at 82.6% and is the top pick to win Group H with a 55.7% chance. They are the best team in the group, but they seem to either win in a landslide or lose in one. There’s rarely a middle ground for Portugal which could hurt them in the group stage.

Their first match of the group stage comes on the fifth day of the tournament against Ghana. This will be a tough matchup, as Ghana will defend for the entire 90 minutes and look to hit on the counter. Getting points from this game will go a long way for Portugal to get out of the Group.

South Korea is ready to shock the world!

South Korea finished second in her AFC World Cup qualifying group. Their seven-win, two-draw, and one-loss record was good enough to give them an automatic bid to the 2022 men’s World Cup. Now, South Korea will look to bring their good recent form to the forefront of Group H.

Unbeaten in their last six matches, scoring 12 goals and allowing just five in the stretch shows the blueprint of how they play. They will look to overwhelm their opponent and hurt them as often as possible. Could this be enough for South Korea to shock the World and get out of Group H?

To open up their 2022 World Cup, South Korea takes on Uruguay. This will be a very telling match, if they can get points from it they will be in a good position to shock the world and make it to the knockout rounds!

Uruguay has the attacking talent to get out of the group.

Uruguay is a very talented team in the attack, but they also are a very shaky defense. In their CONMEBOL qualifying, they finished in third place, but thanks to their eight wins, four draws, and six losses record. They were able to score 22 goals, but they also allowed 22 goals in that span of matches.

Despite their not-so-good goal differential in qualifying, Uruguay still has the second-best odds to get out of the group. They sit on a 25.6% chance of making the knockout rounds. This will all depend on how well they can defend, and in their recent form, they are actually doing very well. They have allowed just two goals in their last nine matches; in those games, they have scored 18 goals. This is the key to Uruguay’s ability to get out of Group H.

Uruguay takes on South Korea in their first match on the fifth day of the tournament. If they can continue their recent form of scoring boatloads of goals while keeping a stout defense then Uruguay will be on their way to the knockouts. If they play as they did in World Cup qualifying and leak goals, they might not make it out of the group!