Paulo Bento was furious.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE, ranked 64th in FIFA rankings), led by Bento, tied 1-1 with Palestine (ranked 99th in FIFA rankings) in the second Group C match of the 2023 Asian Cup of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar held at Al-Zanub Stadium in Al-Wakra, Qatar, at 2:30 a.m. on the 19th (Korea time). As a result, UAE ranks first in the group with one win and one draw (4 points), and Palestine ranks third in the group with one draw and one loss (one point).
Bento led the South Korean national team from 2018 to the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup, making clear results. The South Korean national team, led by Bento, did not have high expectations until just before the World Cup. The tactical operation of Bento’s persistent selection of players and Plan A for the past four years has also been under fire every time.
However, Bento set only one goal and moved on. Bento consistently emphasized the build-up starting from a low position, the advancement of left and right fullbacks, and the development of attacks through organic pass plays.
In the end, the soccer event paid off. It caught the eyes of fans by actively playing soccer from the group stage of the World Cup in Qatar. Bento instilled in the team that he can play leading soccer in Korea, which has always given the initiative to the opponent team in the past, playing passive soccer in the World Cup stages. In the end, he also made it to the round of 16 and got the result. Although the team wrapped up its journey by losing to Brazil, no one criticized Bento.
However, he left Korea after failing to negotiate a renewal of his contract. Bento made him feel strongly in love with Korea even until he left. When he left Korea in December last year, Bento said his last greeting, saying, “I want to express my feelings after spending time with the Korean national soccer team.” “First of all, I would like to thank the Korean people for their support over the past four years. I would also like to express my gratitude to all the support staff.”
Bento, who has been a wild man since then, took the helm of UAE in July last year. “The UAE national team has important competitions ahead of it. The most important thing is the qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup, which will start in November next year, and there is also the Asian Cup in Qatar in January next year. Our ambition is to achieve our ambition in such a competition,” Bento said at his press conference.
He added, “In addition to previous information about the UAE national team, we have an action plan for the upcoming period. We will try to get a better sense of the players and emphasize that the selection criteria are based on performance and attitude regardless of age.” 헤라카지노
It was strong from the beginning. The UAE had a 4-1 victory over Costa Rica, a powerhouse in North and Central America, in September last year. The UAE showed overwhelming performance. It had five shots in the first half alone, recording four shots on goal. Its market share was almost even at 46 percent. Three of them were scored. The UAE showed similar performance in the second half. It added one more goal in the second half, effectively sealing the victory.