Portugal held on to an early lead in their Group F opener at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019 to grind out a 1-0 victory against Korea Republic. After going ahead just seven minutes into the match, the European champions held firm as the Koreans pressed for a leveller.
A punishing counterattack gave Portugal the lead, as Trincao tore through the centre of a scrambling Korean defence to tuck in his side’s first goal of the tournament. The Portuguese would nearly duplicate the feat 12 minutes later, with Trincao appearing to have secured his brace before the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) ruled that Rafael Leao was offside in the build-up to the goal.
Korea Republic came out stronger in the second half. Lee Kangin offered the first shot on target for his side just before the hour mark, a curling, speculative effort from outside the box that was saved comfortably by Portugal goalkeeper Joao Virginia.
In the end Portugal continued their good form from the continental championships to set themselves up for a mouthwatering heavyweight bout with Argentina on Tuesday.
Next up (Tuesday)
Portugal-Argentina (18:00 local time) South Africa-Korea Republic (20:30 local time)