Republic of Korea

Belgium (1-0) South Korea

Is Belgium Looking to Lose? (UPDATE: Nope!)

By Andrew Palczewski   |


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Belgium could take a dive to face an easier opponent in the Round of 16.

UPDATE: Belgium wins their match against South Korea, 1-0, and wins Group H. They’ll face the United States in the knockout round on Tuesday.

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You read that right – Belgium could try to lose their match against South Korea today. Belgium has already advanced, so a loss won’t affect their spot in the Round of 16. But it would affect who they play. From FiveThirtyEight.com:

An interesting scenario might unfold in Group H if the U.S. beats Germany. Then Belgium might have an incentive to lose to South Korea and hope that Algeria overtakes it. That would set the Red Devils up with a Round of 16 match against the Americans instead of the Germans.

See if the Belgians take a dive today at 4 PM ET (8 PM UTC).

For play-by-play, minute-by-minute coverage of every ball touch, throw-in, direct kick, indirect kick, yellow card, red card, corner kick, goal kick and every other possible football feat in every World Cup match, tap into VOA’s multilingual, multinational analysis.

Click here to follow the action live, or follow along on Facebook, or on Twitter with #WorldCupVOA.

And for even more exclusive VOA coverage with a special focus on Africa’s national teams, check out VOA’s Francophone blog.

Algeria (4-2) South Korea

South Korea vs. Algeria: Do or Die for Les Fennecs (UDPATE: Algeria Lives Another Day)

By Andrew Palczewski   |


here

Algeria must win to stay in.

UPDATE: After a flurry of goals, Algeria beat South Korea 4-2, and took second in Group H behind Belgium. Now South Korea’s on the hot seat – if they fall to Belgium on Thursday, their World Cup is over. Algeria, meanwhile, can get to the Round of 16 with a win over Russia.

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After a 1-1 draw with Russia, South Korea will be playing for a spot in the Round of 16. Algeria, meanwhile, will be playing for their soccer lives – after a 2-1 loss to Belgium, if Les Fennecs lose this match, their 2014 World Cup is over.

Watch Algeria fight – and see if they can survive – at 3 PM ET (7 PM UTC).

For play-by-play, minute-by-minute coverage of every ball touch, throw-in, direct kick, indirect kick, yellow card, red card, corner kick, goal kick and every other possible football feat in every World Cup match, tap into VOA’s multilingual, multinational analysis.

Click here to follow the action live, or follow along on Facebook, or on Twitter with #WorldCupVOA.

And for even more exclusive VOA coverage with a special focus on Africa’s national teams, check out VOA’s Francophone blog.

Russia (1-1) Korea

Group H: Russia and Korea Go Head to Head (UPDATE: Game Ends in Tie)

By Andrew Palczewski   |


here

Two women take a selfie with a poster of the Korean national football team.

UPDATE: In the second tie of the day, Russia and Korea came out of their match with a score of 1-1.

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In the final match of the first round of the 2014 World Cup, Russia takes on the Republic of Korea. This looks to be a close match: Korea has won its last three opening round World Cup matches, but only won two of their last 10. Russia has only had one shutout in their last six World Cup matches, but also also holds the record of most goals by a single player in a World Cup match (Oleg Salenko scored five goals against Cameroon in 1994; Russia won that match 6-1). The match kicks off at 6 PM ET (10 PM UTC).

For play-by-play, minute-by-minute coverage of every ball touch, throw-in, direct kick, indirect kick, yellow card, red card, corner kick, goal kick and every other possible football feat in every World Cup match, tap into VOA’s multilingual, multinational analysis.

Click here to follow the action live, or follow along on Facebook, or on Twitter with #WorldCupVOA.

And for even more exclusive VOA coverage with a special focus on Africa’s national teams, check out VOA’s Francophone blog.