All times listed are local,
AST (
UTC+3). With his goal, Ronaldo became the first male player to score at
five different FIFA World Cup tournaments. At the age of 37 years and 292 days, he also became the second-oldest player to score at a World Cup, behind only
Roger Milla for
Cameroon in
1994 (aged 42 years and 39 days).
South Korea vs Ghana The teams had faced each other eight times, most recently in 2014, 4–0 friendly win by Ghana. In the first half, Ghana scored two goals against the run of play within a ten-minute span to take a 2–0 lead, coming from
Mohammed Salisu and
Mohammed Kudus. South Korea would then reply in the second half with two goals of their own, both headers scored within three minutes of each other by
Cho Gue-sung, to level the game at 2–2. Kudus scored the decisive goal and his second of the match in the 68th minute, coming after
Iñaki Williams had mistimed his initial shot, to put Ghana back in front. Ghanaian goalkeeper
Lawrence Ati-Zigi made multiple crucial saves and Salisu cleared an effort off the line late on to secure them a 3–2 victory. Cho Gue-sung and Kudus each became the first players to score multiple goals in a single World Cup match for their respective countries. When referee
Anthony Taylor ended the game instead of allowing a South Korean player to kick off a corner, South Korea's head coach
Paulo Bento ran onto the field and screamed at the referee, for which he was shown a
red card, making it the first time in World Cup history that a coach was sent off after the conclusion of the match. Counting players'
Leandro Cufré's and
Josip Šimunić's red cards (both in
2006), this was the third time a sending off occurred after the match had ended.
Portugal vs Uruguay The teams had met three times prior, including Uruguay's
2–1 round of 16 victory at the
2018 FIFA World Cup.
Bruno Fernandes put Portugal into the lead during the second half when his cross from the left deceived Uruguay keeper
Sergio Rochet, after
Cristiano Ronaldo had tried to glance the ball past him with his head. Ronaldo was initially ruled as the goalscorer before FIFA determined that he hadn't connected with the ball, and instead awarded the goal to Fernandes. Fernandes scored a second in the third minute of stoppage time, a penalty awarded by the
VAR for handball by
José Giménez, which he rolled into the left side of the net. With this victory, Portugal secured a place in the knockout stage.
Ghana vs Uruguay The teams had one prior meeting, which came in the
2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals; Uruguay won 4–2 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time. In the first half, Ghana were awarded a penalty after Uruguay goalkeeper
Sergio Rochet was adjudged to have fouled
Mohammed Kudus inside the area; however, Rochet then saved the subsequent spot kick taken by Ghana captain
André Ayew. Shortly after this, midfielder
Giorgian de Arrascaeta scored Uruguay's first two goals of the tournament within a span of six minutes to earn his side a 2–0 half-time lead, which saw them rise to second place in the live group standings. However, Uruguay would then be pushed down to third in the table on goals scored following South Korea's winner against Portugal late into the second half of the group's other ongoing game. Uruguay were unable to find the third goal they now required to advance, with Ghana keeper
Lawrence Ati-Zigi making saves late on to deny both
Edinson Cavani and
Maxi Gómez, and thus failed to progress past the first round for the first time since
2002. Defeat also saw Ghana eliminated, finishing bottom of the group with only three points. Referee
Daniel Siebert and his assistants were angrily confronted by Uruguayan players following the final whistle, after both Siebert and the
VAR had disagreed with Uruguay's penalty appeals in the second half: first for a coming together between
Darwin Núñez and Ghana's
Alidu Seidu, and then in stoppage time after Cavani went down in the area. In January 2023, FIFA would go on to punish several Uruguayan players for their actions in the aftermath of the contest, deeming their behaviour "discriminatory", "offensive", and a "violation of the principles of fair play"; substitute keeper
Fernando Muslera and defender
José Giménez both received four-match bans, while Cavani and captain
Diego Godín each served a one-game suspension. All four players were also required to pay fines along with the
nation's football association, and carry out a form of football community service. With De Arrascaeta's goals, Uruguay became the last team of all 32 participants to score at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
South Korea vs Portugal Prior to this match, the teams had met once before, being South Korea's
1–0 group stage victory in the
2002 FIFA World Cup (which they co-hosted with Japan). A rotated Portugal side took the lead in the opening five minutes, when
Ricardo Horta scored on his World Cup debut with a first-time shot. South Korea would equalize in the 27th minute, when Portugal failed to clear a corner which hit the back of
Cristiano Ronaldo, landing at the feet of
Kim Young-gwon who scored from close range. In a second half where both sides saw opportunities, South Korea would find the winner in stoppage time, after
Son Heung-min recovered the ball off a counter from a Portugal corner and slipped it to
Hwang Hee-chan, who finished his shot into the bottom corner of the net. This late victory saw South Korea leapfrog Uruguay in the group standings on goals scored to join Portugal in the knockout stage, progressing to the second round for the first time since
2010. ==Discipline==