Belgium sneaked a 1-0 win over South Korea in the final Group H encounter at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paolo on Thursday evening.
Marc Wilmots’ men scored their lone goal through skipper Jan Vertonghen to set up a Round of 16 tie against the USA.
The game got off to a bright start when Dries Mertens found himself in the box after making inroads down the left wing in the very first minute, but was unable to find a telling pass to any of his teammates.
South Korea broke quickly in the seventh minute and had a penalty claim turned down after Moussa Dembele seemingly dragged back Chung Yong Lee in the area.
The Taegeuk Warriors then began exuding confidence and started passing the ball with more meaning before earning a freekick on the right side of the pitch deep into the opposition half.
Yuong Gwon Kim saw his effort blaze over the bar in the tenth minute after the setpiece delivery somehow found its way to the defender at the far post.
The game wore on with no significant chances for either side, although plenty of crosses were floated into the box by both sets of players.
A shot was registered in the 18th minute as Jan Vertonghen belted a freekick from 35 yards, but to his dismay, it flew well wide of the goal.
Mertens had the best chance of the game when Kevin Mirallas’ weak shot ricocheted off a defender and found its way to the Napoli man, who missed an absolute sitter from about eight yards.
The Belgian defence came under immense pressure around the 30-minute mark when Sung Yeung Ki first tested Thibaut Courtois with a pile driver towards the bottom corner from about 30 yards.
The big talking point of the game unfolded at the cusp of half time when Steven Defour saw red for an over-the-top, two footed challenge on Shin Wook Kim, leaving Marc Wilmots side with ten men for the remaining 45 minutes.
Ki recorded the first shot of the second half with a hopeful effort from 25 yards which flew over the bar in the 51st minute.
The Koreans though continued to dominate and whip dangerous balls into the box, but an end product continued to elude Myung Bo’s men.
Fellaini had a shout for a penalty turned down in the 54th minute as he barged into the box to latch on to a pass from club-mate Adnan Januzaj.
The breakthrough finally arrived on 78 minutes after Divock Origi’s shot was parried straight into Vertonghen’s path, who made no mistake from just outside the six-yard box.
A minute after the opener, the Taegeuk Warriors came close to scoring as a cross from the right wing found the outstretched leg of Keun Ho Lee, who failed to keep his shot on target.
