Rio de Janeiro, June 23:
A last gasp equaliser by substitute striker Silvestre Varela helped Portugal stay afloat with a 2-2 draw against a resolute USA while minnows Algeria turned on the style, thrashing the more fancied South Korea 4-2 in the ongoing FIFA World Cup.
In another match, Belgium eked out a hard-fought 1-0 win against Russia to enter the last-16 from group H.
Algeria beat South Korea 4-2 in another high-scoring thriller to keep their chances of knock-out qualification alive from Group H.
Portugal will now need to win big against Ghana in their last group league game while praying that another group G match between United States and Germany doesn’t end in a draw, in order to qualify for the Round of 16.
While Germany and the US are on four points, Portugal and Ghana have a point each.
It was Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who essayed the perfect centre for Varela to head home with just 30 seconds left for the final whistle.
It was one of the most exciting matches in which Portugal got the lead as early as in the fifth minute when Nani capitalised on a defensive blooper from Geoff Cameron.
A faulty clearance landed on Nani’s feet as the Manchester United player slotted home from close range.
The injury to Postiga and the subsequent introduction of forward Eder did hurt Portugal. Eder failed to make any impact and lost a lot of balls in the opposition box much to the dismay of his captain.
In the 54th minute, Valencia’s Ricardo Costa pulled off an incredible goalline save off a Michael Bradley push latching on to an assist from Fabian Johnson.
Portuguese goalkeeper Beto was nowhere near and Bradley couldn’t believe that Costa had pulled off that save.
However Jermaine Jones’ swinging long-ranger from outside the penalty box saw a helpless Beto stranded as it rammed into the net. Jones received the ball when Nani’s ill-directed feeble clearance came to him.
Skipper Clint Dempsey made it 2-1 in the 81st minute.
Yedlin made a lovely run along the right before cutting it back for Bradley. His shot was blocked into the feet of Zusi who crossed it for Dempsey. Dempsey chested it from close range to give US the lead.
It was finally left to Ronaldo to turn provider in order to help Portugal live for another day.
For Algeria, it was their best match in World Cup history as they stunned the 2002 semi-finalists South Korea opening up an unbelievable 3-0 lead in the first half itself.
It was their first World Cup victory since their famous 1982 shock win against erstwhile West Germany and was the first time an African side had managed four goals in a single World Cup match.
Islam Slimani, Rafik Halliche and Abdelmoume Djabou were the scorers in the first half.
Son Heung-Min and Koo Ja-Cheol gave Korea some hope in the second half but Yacine Brahimi’s fourth for Algeria kept them in charge.
The result helped Algeria move up to second in Group H behind Belgium, with Russia and the Koreans trailing on one point apiece.
In the first match of the day in Rio De Janeiro, young substitute Divock Origi made full use of a beautiful pull-back from Chelsea star Eden Hazard in the 88th minute as Belgium beat a gritty Russian team 1-0 making it to the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time since Italy, 1990.
It was a goal against the run-of-play by the Belgians after Russia dominated the proceedings for the better part of the match.
Forward Alexander Korkorin missed one of the easiest chances in the championship in the 44th minute when he got a free-header with left back Dmitry Kombarov providing a measured cross from the left.
Korkorin did the hard work of evading Vincent Kompany but headed wide off the target when he had Belgian custodian Courtois at his mercy. (PTI)
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