It's time for ‘Round 2' in the ‘Group of Death' as Portugal and North Korea face-off, in an encounter extremely crucial to both teams' futures in the tournament. Before the tournament began, one would have predicted this to be a lopsided battle, with Portugal tipped to run riot in the North Korean ranks.

It is unlikely that most people would make that mistake now; especially after watching a resolute Korean outfit keep Brazil honest in the opener. That; coupled with Portugal's below-par showing against Ivory Coast has ensured that it is going to be extremely tough to predict the outcome of this game to be played on Monday the 21st of June at the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town.

Portugal would have to display a marked improvement in their game after a dismal showing against Ivory Coast, and though they have the cushion of playing North Korea before they do battle with the mighty Brazil, anything less than a win here would be criminal. The merry band of robbers from North Korea on the other hand, have nothing much to lose, and any number of points that they can steal away from the other teams in the ‘Group of Death' would be heralded as a bonus.

Portugal:
Apart from Cristiano Ronaldo's 11th minute rocket shot that hit the crossbar, Portugal created little that troubled the Ivory Coast defence on Tuesday. Though Ronaldo was brilliant in patches, he struggled for consistency and with scant support coming from Liedson and Danny, Portugal weren't able to mount threatening attacks.

Though the backline remained strong with Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho leading the defense, lack of shots on target from the Ivorians meant that Eduardo was hardly tested. Against the enterprising North Koreans though, Eduardo can expect some more action with the Asians looking good enough to hit Portugal on the counter.
With Danny being largely ineffective against Ivory Coast, Carlos Querioz might decide to start with Simao, meaning Portugal would line-up in a 4-4-2 as against the 4-3-3 in the opener. Ronaldo, on the other hand, would expect for more support from the likes of Deco and Simao to make inroads into the Korean half.

If Brazil gets past Ivory Coast in the earlier Group G game, a 'big' win against North Korea would boost Portugal's qualification chances, with goal difference being very likely to come into play.

North Korea:
When Jong Tae-Se shed tears of joy at the sound of the Korean national anthem before the game against Brazil got underway, many would have thought that to be the ‘moment of the game' for North Korea. Nobody expected the Koreans to turn up in such a tough group, forget running Brazil close, and their excellent display has made life all the more difficult for the other two teams.
While a defensive approach was expected, what was striking was that the Koreans managed to stifle the Brazilian attack and keep shots on goal down to a premium, all this while enjoying only about 28% possession. While goalkeeper Ri Myong-Guk impressed for most the game, both Korean full-backs in Cha Jong-Hyok and Ji Yun-Nam were industrious, the latter grabbing Korea's late reply.
Jong Tae-Se had an equally promising companion in Hong Yong-Jo upfront, and had the Korean's shown a little more ambition, the striking duo would have got enough support to put one in the back of the Brazilian net.