World Cup 2022: Cristiano Ronaldo Risks Hostility from South Korea Fans Over 2019 Incident

• South Korea come up against Portugal in their final Group H game with everything at stake
• The South Koreans have a bit of history with Cristiano Ronaldo for all the wrong reasons
• Ronaldo angered the Asian nation during a pre-season game when he was a Juventus player

Cristiano Ronaldo could be South Korea’s public enemy number 1, going into the final round of World Cup games in Group H.

Portugal come up against South Korea in a game in which Heung-min Son and his teammates need to come up with a shock result, if they are to have a chance of playing in the knockout stages.

While everything is at stake for the Taegeuk Warriors, a minor subplot in the build-up to the game could act as an incentive to beat the Selecao.

The South Koreans were angered by Ronaldo three years ago, when the superstar was still a Juventus player, in an incident that will likely not be forgotten.

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How Ronaldo angered South Koreans

In the summer of 2020, as Juventus were on pre-season tour in Asia, they came up against several teams in the routine friendlies before the official start of the campaign.

At the time, Juventus came up against Tottenham in Singapore and fellow Serie A side Inter Milan in China.

Ronaldo played in both games, but when it came to the final pre-season game involving K League Select XI in Seoul, the then 34-year-old was a no-show.

This was extremely disappointing for South Korea fans, who made an extraordinary attendance of 63,000 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, primarily to watch the former Real Madrid man.

Ronaldo missing the game was a blow to his ardent fans in the Asian nation, who grew extremely bitter with him.

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Ronaldo doubtful for SK clash

Although there is a feeling that CR7 will be targeted in Qatar by the South Koreans, he is actually a major doubt for Portugal's final group stage game on Friday, December 2.

Sports Mole reports that the 37-year-old missed Wednesday’s training session and instead trained alone at the gym.

Portugal boss Fernando Santos also hinted his superstar might be missing out on the clash with the Tigers of Asia.

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CR7 became a free agent this month after his contract at Manchester United was prematurely terminated, following his infamous Piers Morgan interview.

The star forward will likely not stay clubless for long, and has already been linked with a stunning move to Saudi giants Al Nassr.