Coach Paulo Bento of the national football team watches the match against the United Arab Emirates in Group A of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar Asian Final Qualifier held at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on the 29th. Provided by the Korea Football Association
The Korean national football team, which defeated Iran for the first time in 11 years and prided itself on being the strongest in Asia, suffered a devastating blow to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the final match of the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers. Although the Qatar World Cup failed to go undefeated, it was a game that took valuable incorrect notes in that it revealed Bentuho’s ‘anxiety factor’. In order for the Bentuho to succeed in the finals, there are many things that need to be refined during the remaining eight months.
Korea Republic, led by coach Paulo Bento, lost the match against the UAE 0-1 in the Asian final round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar held at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on the 29th (Korean time). In the 9th minute of the second half, Harib Abdala opened the scoring, and in the end it was not possible to make up for it.
On this day, Bentuho struggled against the UAE, which played counterattack football through strong pressure. When the UAE lost the ball in their own half, they momentarily pressed very hard to block the Bentuho’s signature pass football.
Jung Woo-young (Al Sadd), who was the helmsman in the midfield, was not able to protect the ball well from the UAE’s pressure, raising anxiety. Naturally, the accuracy of forward-facing passes is greatly reduced. Lee Jae-seong (Mainz) and Kwon Chang-hoon (Kim Cheon), who formed the midfield together, also did not have a smooth attack development.
Korea hardly opened the door to attack, and the monotonous attack pattern with only crosses on both sides was repeated. It relied on ad hoc attacking from left and right fullbacks rather than the pathwork of the midfield that Bentuho was proud of, and the attack had no choice but to become dull.
Midfielder Hwang In-beom (Kazan), who left the line due to a toe injury, seemed to have a big vacancy. How to organize the midfield without Hwang In-beom emerged as a task that coach Bento must solve during the remaining eight months until the finals.
Korean players regret after conceding a goal during the match between South Korea and the UAE in Group A of the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup Asian Final Qualifier held at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the 29th. Provided by the Korea Football Association
It should be pointed out that he did not show a sharp appearance in the set piece. Bentuho took 16 corner kicks in Game 10 against the UAE but never scored.
Korea has been far from scoring set-pieces since Bento took over. He has not been able to create a set-piece scoring scene since he won the East Asian Cup in Busan in December 2019 by scoring 3 goals. Heung-min Son’s goal was the only set-piece goal scored by Bentuho during the 10 World Cup final qualifiers in the third match against Syria.
Before entering the World Cup finals, the set piece needs to be improved. A set piece is a weapon that can change the outcome of a match regardless of power if used well. In particular, the importance of set pieces can be even more pronounced in the finals, where strong teams are lined up.
The fact that ‘built-in one-top’ Hwang Ui-jo ended the final qualifier without a score seems to be a concern for coach Bento.
Hwang Ui-jo was literally Bentuho’s ‘one-top’ striker in all areas, such as the amount of activity, linkage ability, and decisiveness. However, Hwang Ui-jo played in 8 of the 10 final qualifying matches, but failed to score a goal. On June 5, last year, Hwang Ui-jo scored two goals in the second qualifying match (Korea 5-1 win) against Turkmenistan at Bentuho.
After the match against the UAE, coach Bento emphasized, “We have to understand why today’s game is like this and find a solution.”
Kim Ki-joong reporter [email protected]