Belgium's fate in the World Cup is sealed. They will advance to the knockout stages and meet the United States team who just lost to Germany, but will advance anyways. A favorite coming into the World Cup, this is not a surprise despite Belgium slightly underwhelming in the tournament so far. South Korea still has some work to do if they want to advance. The team will need an upset if they plan to see the next game.
Belgium needed late heroics to get to this point. They forced a comeback win to beat Algeria. The needed a late goal by Eden Hazard to beat Russia. With a knockout stage game guaranteed, coach Marc Wilmots has revealed that he will be resting players for the game against South Korea. Both Toby Alderweireld and Axel Witsel will move to the bench which will bring young players like Dovock Origi onto the field. The team will likely substitute multiple times in order to keep players fresh for the next round.
Belgium has not officialy won Group H, but they are guaranteed to move on. The team does have some incentive to play. Group H has not been the most high-performance grouping in the World Cup. The US team will be prepared to play hard especially after a hard-fought match against Germany. Belgium would do well to try and keep the momentum alive.
South korea has not exactly impressed in this World Cup, but they are still very much alive in group play. They technically sit at the bottom of the group standings, but a win over Belgium could place them into second place depending on the outcome of the Algeria game. They have a fully healthy squad which will come in handy as Belgium rotates players. The team's defense has been their downfall. They have look unorganized and lackluster for the entire tournament. That could hurt against Belgium's lethal attack. If South Korea can get at least one goal, they are in better shape.
Group H still has plenty of moving pieces. Only Belgium is a lock to move on, meaning Thursday is crucial. South Korea's chances of advancing is an uphill climb, but an upset would seal their fate to move on. Belgium is favored in the match, but resting players could change that.
