[골닷컴] Correspondent Choi Dae-hoon = Bentuho started the 2022 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (hereafter the East Asian Cup) with a great victory over China. However, we must not forget the fact that China struggled throughout the first half while China appeared as the under-23 (U-23) national team.
The Korean national football team, led by coach Paulo Bento (Portugal), won the first leg of the 2022 East Asian Cup against China 3-0 at the Toyota Stadium in Japan at 7 pm on the 20th. The victory marked a smooth start and took the first step towards winning the championship for the fourth time in a row.
Bentuho participated in the East Asian Cup ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The East Asian Cup was evaluated as a somewhat less important competition, but its importance has changed due to the circumstances. It is a situation in which players are turning their eyes on the players to prove their abilities, and the coaching staff to check their performance and evaluate players.
In such an important situation, Bentuho clashed with China in the first leg, and, in addition to an own goal in the 39th minute of the first half, Kwon Chang-hoon (Kim Cheon Sang-mu)’s additional goal in the 9th minute, and Jo Kyu-seong (Kim Cheon)’s key goal in the 35th minute of the second half, led to a pleasant victory. took the
But we must not be satisfied here. Bentuho obviously brought results, but the performance in the first half could not be evaluated as good. In fact, China was not the ‘first-team’ we faced that day. China consisted of U-23 players, and 20 out of 24 players had never experienced an A match. Aleksandar Jankovic (Serbia), the head coach of the U-23 national team, took over the baton. Wuxi (Shanghai Shenhua) and Zhang Linfeng (Shanghai Haigang), who were originally scheduled to join the team, also suffered injuries, and the weight dropped even more.
Of course, Bentuho cannot be said to be a ‘first team’ because foreign players are missing. But he is incomparable to China. Even though Bentuho didn’t do his best, Kim Jin-su (Jeonbuk Hyundai), who played 58 matches in A Match, and In-beom Hwang (FC Seoul), who played 34 times, were called up and started on this day as well.
Bentuho should have performed well against China and scored many goals, considering the players’ names, experiences, and expectations. But even though he took the lead throughout the first half, he didn’t create any real scoring opportunities. Neither Na Sang-ho (Seoul)’s good shot nor Hwang In-beom’s volley shot could be seen as a major threat.
China’s goal, which had been firmly closed despite several shots, was opened with an own goal. Bentuho took the lead due to his opponent’s mistake. China lost the lead, so they had no choice but to stick their heads out, and Korea took advantage of this to win with an additional goal in the second half.
Winning a game is, of course, a good feeling. However, winning against China, which is evaluated below one level, was never satisfied with a situation that brought the lead with an own goal. With four months left until the Qatar World Cup, Bentuho seems to have to pay more attention to the content of the match.