Korean soccer team players greeting fans after the match. Provided by the Korea Football Association
Obviously, Bentu did well in the final qualifying round. At the same time, his weaknesses were clearly revealed in the last match.
The soccer team, led by coach Paulo Bento, finished the schedule with 7 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss and 2nd place in Group A of the 2022 Qatar World Cup Asian final qualifying round.
Although they had a hard time in the recent World Cup final qualifiers, this time they confirmed their advance to the World Cup finals early. In the 9th game against Iran on the 24th, which started as an all-out war under no pressure, he won the first time in 11 years with perfect performance.
However, the match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which ended in the morning of the 30th (Korean time), lost 0 to 1 due to a performance that was below expectations and missed the first place in the group right before their eyes.
UAE trying to attack. Provided by the Korea Football Association
In Group A of the final qualifying round, Bentuho was tied to Middle East teams such as Iran, UAE, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
Preventing bed football was the top priority. The card Bentuho pulled out was possession soccer. Making the opponent tired by attacking through the build-up and scoring the first goal to take the game advantageously.
The home match against Iraq in the first leg was disappointing. Completely defensively, Iraq could not open the goal. In the second match against Lebanon, Bentuho recorded their first win by using a replacement card following an offensive rotation.
Since then, Bentuho has continued to rise with his stable skills.
However, this time against the UAE was different. The UAE, which analyzed Bentuho’s performance in the meantime, took out cards that interfered with Bentuho’s build-up football while playing defensively at the same time.
Bentuho could not score a goal from a set piece situation. Provided by the Korea Football Association
The UAE’s strategy paid off. Mistakes were often made due to opposing pressure in defense and midfield. The players who were weak in stamina made a lot of mistakes and their movements were definitely slow.
The main overseas players had difficulties adapting to the jet lag in the schedule from their teams to Korea and back to the UAE, and as they focused their efforts against Iran on the 24th, the physical strength of the domestic players was also exhausted.
Mistakes made especially defensively were fatal. He exposed several crises as he failed to properly block the opponent’s striker, and in the end he even allowed the winning goal in the lead.
After conceding the opening goal, the attack was reined in, but the goal of the UAE, which was more defensive, did not open. All the set pieces prepared were in vain. South Korea attempted 16 corner kicks that day, but they all missed.
Problems with attack and set piece determinism when escaping from pressure to interfere with the opponent’s build-up and dense defense. Bentu, who exposed his weaknesses, must find a solution before the Qatar World Cup to be held in November.
