▲ Paulo Bento, head coach of the South Korean men's national football team, speaks at a press conference at the National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on May 24, 2021, in this photo provided by the Korea Football Association. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ In this file photo from March 25, 2021, South Korean players (in red) react to a 3-0 loss to Japan in a men's friendly football match at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, Japan. (Yonhap)
▲ Jung Sang-bin of Suwon Samsung Bluewings celebrates his goal against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors during a K League 1 match at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul, in this May 9, 2021, file photo provided by the Korea Professional Football League. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

football-coach

In hot seat, nat'l football coach vows to bounce back after dismal loss to Japan

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, May 24 (Yonhap) -- His already hot seat now scalding, Paulo Bento, head coach of the South Korean men's national football team, promised Monday that better times lie ahead.

With the national team still trying to pick up the pieces after a 3-0 loss to Japan in March -- a result that could easily have been more lopsided -- it's difficult to imagine things getting any worse.

Calls for Bento's head after the friendly loss grew to their loudest level since the Portuguese man got the job in August 2018. With the next FIFA World Cup about a year away, critics said it was time to act decisively and swiftly to make a coaching change before it was too late.

The defeat to the archrival prompted the Korea Football Association (KFA) President Chung Mong-gyu to issue a public apology -- rare for a loss in a friendly match -- and Chung also came to Bento's defense, while falling short of a vote of confidence.

Now that the second round of the Asian qualifying for the 2022 World Cup will resume next month, Bento remains entrenched on the South Korean bench. South Korea will serve as the centralized venue for the remaining second-round matches, and will host Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka and Lebanon on June 5, 9 and 13, respectively.

Take those eminently winnable matches and a lot of problems will be solved.

"I feel a huge sense of responsibility for the result of the match against Japan, and I am the only person who should be held accountable for that," Bento said at a press conference after announcing his 28-man roster for the World Cup qualifiers. "I had meetings (with my staff) to break down what went wrong in that match and to talk about what we can do to get better. On the foundation of trust, we'll work together with the players we named today and play well in these three matches. We'll try to think of ways to put on a good show for our fans."

Asked about his tenuous job security, Bento turned defensive.

"There are things you see on the surface, and there are areas that we work on to strengthen our team behind the scenes," Bento said. "It's not appropriate to have a team's fate hinge on the result of one match."

Bento said the national team deserves some benefit of the doubt, given that the year 2020 was a lost one for many in sports because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We have to assess the situation after the COVID-19 outbreak in December 2019 differently. We've faced a lot of difficulties, including not being able to play a lot of matches. But we always tried to get better along the way. I think we should be able to get back on track and continue on with the positive process we had (before the pandemic)."

For the World Cup qualifiers, Bento selected familiar names, such as Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min and Bordeaux's Hwang Ui-jo, two of the country's most prolific goal scorers. The coach also picked up-and-comers from the K League 1 who have yet to play internationally.

One notable name is Jung Sang-bin, the 19-year-old forward for Suwon Samsung Bluewings. Jung is second on the team with four goals, many of which have come against top contenders.

"Jung Sang-bin is a fast, hard-working player who has a great tactical understanding on the defensive end," Bento said. "He's also able to read the match. And he has already proven his capability as he's been playing significant minutes for Suwon, not just 10 or 15 minutes per match. When it comes to picking players for the national team, age doesn't mean anything. The key is for players to have the qualities that we need."

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