Reuters’ 10 Memorable Impressions at Qatar World Cup

The Ten Memorable Impressions at the Qatar World Cup include the scene in which the Korean national team members were watching the Uruguay-Ghana match via their mobile phones after their game against Portugal.

Reuters singled out 10 Memorable Impressions of this year’s World Cup and picked the second situation in which South Korea’s advance to the round of 16 was confirmed. Entitled ‘South Korea’s nervous wait,’ Reuters said, “When Hwang Hee-chan (26) scored a stoppage-time winner for South Korea in their final Group H game the hard part was just starting. The Korean players then had to spend almost 10 agonising minutes in a tight huddle in the centre circle peering at phones. Finally, with a last-16 place assured, they sprinted en masse towards their delirious fans.”

South Korea had a 2-1 upset win against Portugal on December 3 but had yet to confirm‎ its advance to the knockoff stage. Team Korea could have been eliminated depending on the outcomes of the Uruguay-Ghana match that was played concurrently. As Uruguay beat Ghana 2-0, South Korea had more goals than Uruguay to confirm‎ its advance to the round of 16. Recalling the moment, goalie Kim Seung-gyu (32) said, “I felt 1 second and 10 seconds was like forever.”

Reuters’ other Memorable Impressions include Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win over Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo’s conclusion of his fifth World Cup after Portugal lost to Morocco in the quarterfinals, and the emergence of the first female umpires.


Dong-Wook Kim creating@donga.com