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An electric first half between South Korea and Uruguay ended goalless as both teams played relentlessly at the Education City Stadium in a group H encounter.
The first half saw both teams going all out against each other, pouncing on opportunities to invade each other's penalty area and coming close to scoring several times with the stadium imploding with the fans cheering at the top of their voices. South Korea tried to create pressure on the South-American team right after the kick-off but the ball eventually went out for an Uruguay throw-in. The first big chance for Uruguay came in the 22nd minute when Jose Maria Gimenez sent the ball across from the right, catching Korea off guard. Darwin Gabriel Nunez tried to kick the ball in mid-air but was unable to capitalise. Luis Suarez too had a shy at it but missed the mark. Son Heung-min, the Korean star made a brilliant run in the 25th minute looking threatening as he rushed past the Uruguian defenders. Oliviera put his skills to work and made a phenomenal run to the South Korean box and passed the ball to Nunez at the edge of the box but the push was too strong for Loiviera to gather the ball. The match was bolstered with absolute energy from both teams as they played at the speed of knots, exchanging attacks one after another. South Korea had a real chance at scoring the first goal in the 38th minute but Hwang In-beom missed as the opportunity went begging. Moon Hwan gave a brilliant pass from the right picking Hwang perfectly but the midfielder shot the ball above the goal. The team could have had the lead but Hwang missed a sitter while he was left in disbelief. Uruguay captain Diego Godin almost found the back of the net in the 43rd minute after he headed the ball off a penalty corner but the ball ricocheted off the post. South Korean Son was the stand-out player for his team creating all sorts of problems for the Uruguayan defence with his lightning pace and willy footwork. Nunez was the pick of the players from Uruguay and looked like scoring more than once and will be ruing his missed opportunities to take the lead. The big guns from both teams will be looking to step up as an intense second half awaits. (ANI)
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