South Korea let their emotions pour out when they lost a five-goal thriller to Ghana earlier in the week. But they should not expect any kind of sympathy at Education City Stadium on Friday from Portugal, who are determined to clinch the top spot in the group.

South Korea must beat the Euro 2016 champions — as they did at the 2002 World Cup on home soil — and hope that the result of the other final Group H match between Ghana and Uruguay also goes their way.

Striker Son Heung-min was in tears after Monday’s 3-2 loss to Ghana and coach Paulo Bento was shown a red card. Assistant coach Sergio Costa said the team will bounce back. They have only one point, so they must beat Portugal to have any chance to advance to the next round.

Portugal, on the other hand, have had two wins. But they are still not assured of finishing top of their group, a position that would likely see them avoid Brazil in the last 16.

“First place isn’t guaranteed,” coach Fernando Santos, likely to be forced into more changes to his starting XI because of injuries, said. “We will go for the top spot, and it’s not just because we want to avoid Brazil.”