Paulo Bento, the head coach of South Korea, saw the match against Ghana end with a set of unfortunate events when his protests to the referee for ending the game abruptly, was rewarded with a red card, at the Education City Stadium on November 28.
South Korea was trailing 2-3 in the second half, when a last second corner was denied to the team after 10 minutes of stoppage time, which saw the Koreans miss out on a last chance to equalise in the Qatar 2022 fixture.
Before being appointed as the manager of South Korea, Paulo Bento served as the manager of his country, Portugal, in the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014, where it failed to advance from the group stage.
Bento, a former defensive midfielder with Sporting CP and Portugal, was appointed South Korea manager in August 2018.
Also Read | South Korea squad FIFA World Cup 2022: Son included in 26-member team despite injury
At the age of 35, Bento started his coaching career with Sporting CP. In the 2005-06 season, he inspired the team to UEFA Champions League qualification, finishing second behind Porto.
Under his coaching, South Korea reached the quarterfinals of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup but was knocked out by eventual champion Qatar.
In February 2022, Bento guided South Korea to direct qualification for Qatar World Cup with a 2–0 away win over Syria. This is the country’s tenth consecutive World Cup.
With Tottenham star Son Heung-min free from injury, South Korea, drawn in a tough group alongside Ghana, Portugal and Uruguay, aims to do better than its last edition’s group stage exit. Apart from Son, Bento has talented players in Jeong Wooyeong and Lee Jae-Sung in the midfield.
Also Read | FIFA World Cup 2022: South Korea fixtures in Qatar, schedule, match timings, where to watch
Bento usually lines up his team in a 4-4-2 formation and a 4-1-4-1 formation on some occasions. He has already suggested that he would use multiple formations at the World Cup.
Comments
SHARE