World Cup-qualification
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| ▲ South Korean players celebrate a goal by Kim Jin-su against Syria during the teams' Group A match in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Rashid Stadium in Dubai on Feb. 1, 2022. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Kwon Chang-hoon of South Korea (L) celebrates his goal against Syria during the teams' Group A match in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Rashid Stadium in Dubai on Feb. 1, 2022. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ South Korea head coach Paulo Bento encourages his players against Syria during the teams' Group A match in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Rashid Stadium in Dubai on Feb. 1, 2022. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ In this file photo from Oct. 12, 2021, Son Heung-min celebrates his goal against Iran during the teams' Group A match in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Azadi Stadium in Tehran. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Kim Min-jae of South Korea (L) attempts a pass against Syria during the teams' Group A match in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Rashid Stadium in Dubai on Feb. 1, 2022. (Yonhap) |
World Cup-qualification
S. Korea book early ticket to World Cup thanks to stable leadership, consistent performance
SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Yonhap) -- With newfound stability in leadership and consistent excellence from their best players, South Korea have clinched a spot at the 2022 FIFA World Cup with two matches left in the final qualifying round -- while overcoming their usual speed bumps along the way.
South Korea beat Syria 2-0 in Dubai on Tuesday (local time) to reach 20 points from six wins and two draws. They guaranteed themselves at least the No. 2 seed from Group A and thus one of two automatic tickets to Qatar for football's showpiece event.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which began the day in third place with nine points, are no longer in a position catch South Korea.
South Korea went undefeated, with five wins and one draw, in the previous qualification round. After an uninspiring, 0-0 draw with Iraq to open the final round, South Korea have won five of their next six matches while securing a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Iran in Tehran in October.
One constant has been the presence of head coach Paulo Bento, who took over the team in August 2018 and is currently the longest-serving bench boss in South Korean football history.
South Korea went through abrupt coaching changes in the middle of their prior qualifying campaigns. In the case of the 2014 World Cup bid, Choi Kang-hee resigned from his head coaching post immediately after South Korea clinched a spot in the tournament. For both the 2014 and 2018 editions, South Korea hired new head coaches barely a year ahead of the World Cup.
Bento has overseen the entire qualifying process and, barring an unexpected turn of events, he will stay in his role through the end of the World Cup, at the very least.
That stability has done wonders for the national team. The common knock against Bento used to be that he is too stubborn and inflexible with his tactical approach and he wasn't willing to shake things up. But as his players continued to execute his schemes to great effect, that criticism has turned into praise for Bento's resilience and acumen. Players have also spoken highly of his system and said how familiarity has bred success.
Namely, Bento's bread-and-butter on offense has been the buildup play, founded upon ball possession and patience. He likes to get his defenders involved to generate scoring chances from the back. And Bento stuck to his guns, even as South Korea struggled against inferior opponents.
Over time, though, South Korea's offense became more methodical and precise. At the heart of it all has been the work of the team's captain and best player, Son Heung-min.
He has netted six goals in 11 qualifying matches in which he played, including three in his past four appearances.
For all his goal scoring prowess for Tottenham Hotspur, Son once faced criticism that he was deferring to his teammates too much when playing for his country. Son had often talked about wanting to make his teammates better and trying to do what's best for the team, rather than for himself.
What the gifted forward failed to recognize was that he, and no one else, had to be committed to scoring goals for South Korea in order to make the team better, too. For years, even before Son developed into a national team mainstay, South Korea had trouble translating ball possession advantage into goals and had frequently played down to the level of their opponents in Asia.
With his recent string of performances in the final qualifying round, Son has proven that South Korea will only go as far as he can take them.
Son will be making his third straight World Cup appearance in Qatar. He is tied for most career World Cup goals by a South Korean player with three. Son will also try to join retired captain Park Ji-sung as the only two South Korean players to score in three consecutive World Cups.
On defense, center back Kim Min-jae, who attracted interest from major European clubs before finding a home with Fenerbahce in Turkey in August, has emerged as the most reliable stopper.
Defensive backs are rarely noticeable over the course of a match, especially when they are playing an efficient game, but Kim is the rare defender who can bring people out of their seats with his exceptional defending.
At 190 centimeters and 88 kilograms, Kim isn't going to be pushed around easily. Throughout the qualifying phases, Kim has been manhandling opposing forwards while also relying on his improving passing skills to start counterattacks going the other way.
He can make subtle plays, too, such as getting into passing lanes and quickly clearing the ball out of harm's way. He is also nimble enough to dribble his way out of trouble.
This year's World Cup kicks off six days after Kim's 26th birthday. He is just beginning to scratch the surface and it will be fascinating to see how Kim can handle superior competition at the World Cup.
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