Paulo Bento, coach of the national football team, coaches training at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on the 28th. Provided by the Korea Football Association
National team coach Paulo Bento showed his strong will to finish the Asian final qualifying round for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as group one. We plan to play the best game by operating the best lineup until the end.
On the 29th at 10:45 pm (Korea time), the national team will play the final 10 game of Group A of the Asian Qualifier against the UAE at the Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
At a press conference before the match, coach Bento said, “The goal is to finish the final qualifier in the best way by getting three points. If we win, it is a very important game because we can maintain first place in the group.”
The national team has already secured their place to the World Cup finals by winning the 8th match against Syria early last month. On the 24th, they defeated Iran 2-0 and moved up to the top of Group A (23 points). Coach Bento plans to keep the top spot until the end by starting the ‘Best 11′. “I don’t intend to give a particular player a chance just because I haven’t had enough time to play,” he said. He also predicted an unchanging best lineup, saying, “We will bring the best players to the game according to the situation.” He continued, “The players’ recovery is important because they traveled a long way two days after the 9th game against Iran at home. Although they couldn’t train a lot, they prepared well for the parts necessary for the game and held a meeting. Preparation for the game was as usual. did,” he added.
Kim Young-kwon (32, Ulsan), who scored a key goal in the match against Iran, said, “The recovery time was not long after the match with Iran, so we focused on recovery.” I think I will play with more confidence because I will play with less confidence.”
Dongsoon Choi reporter dosool@hankookilbo.com
