HAVING already sealed their passage to the last-16 of the World Cup, Portugal will conclude their Group H commitments with a clash against South Korea at the Education City Stadium on Friday afternoon.
Fernando Santos' side hit the ground running with a thrilling 3-2 win over Ghana before earning a 2-0 win over Uruguay on Monday.
That pair of victories coupled with results elsewhere saw the Iberians join both Brazil and France in the knockout stages with a game to spare.
Portugal will now endeavour to post a perfect three pool wins from three when they come up against third-placed South Korea on Friday.
After holding Uruguay to a 0-0 draw in their Group H opener, Paulo Bento’s boys crashed to a damaging 3-2 defeat against Ghana last time out.
That setback means the Asian powerhouse will have to put Portugal to the sword and hope for results elsewhere to go their way to have any chance of avoiding an early exit.
Outright Betting
South Korea famously claimed the scalp of Portugal in the only previous meeting between the pair 20 years ago but the same outcome here is an unfancied 77/20 (Highbet) while point apiece pays out at 31/10 (Highbet) with the same firm.
Portugal are odds-on 14/25 favourites with Highbet to make it three Group H wins on the spin.
Betting Angles
Backing Portugal to prevail at the aforementioned price makes little appeal but we can get some 80/100 (William Hill) on them to cover a -0.75 hurdle on the Asian Handicap and that looks like an enticing increase in odds.
This selection would provide a full pay-out if Portugal secure a victory by two goals or more, with a half-stakes winner banked if Fernando Santos' team triumph by a one-goal margin.
While Portugal have already guaranteed themselves a place in the knockout stage, they still have the added incentive of finishing top of the section to increase their chances of avoiding tournament favourites Brazil.
As such, there is plenty of reason to believe Portugal boss Santos will field a strong side here and I suspect his charges could prove too hot for South Korea to handle.
The Taegeuk Warriors shipped three goals against Ghana last time out and that doesn't bode well given that Portugal are a big step up in class and have already seen off the other two teams in the section.
With that in mind, coupled with the fact that Portugal successfully covered a -0.75 handicap in their opening two group games, siding with the same selection here stands out at 80/100 with William Hill.
Team news permitting, I'll also dip into the anytime goalscorer market and back Cristiano Ronaldo to make the net bulge at 6/4 with Betfred.
The Portuguese icon was controversially denied last time out but he should get plenty of chances to make amends here given that South Korea may well throw the kitchen sink at this one in search of unlikely glory.
This World Cup match between South Korea and Portugal will be played on Dec 2, 2022 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best South Korea vs Portugal prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
