Reporter Park Dae-sung] Paulo Bento, the head coach of the Arab Emirates (UAE), said something bitter to the local media. He emphasized the growth of the team step by step in the Asian Cup championship competition and emphasized looking at the big picture.
The UAE is in Group C with Iran, Palestine, and Hong Kong in the 2023 Asian Cup. It has increased its chances of advancing to the knockout stage of the round of 16 with two undefeated matches against Hong Kong (3-1 win) and Palestine (1-1 draw), but it will meet Iran, which confirmed its passage to the group stage earlier.
They held an official press conference ahead of the final Group C match against Iran at 0 a.m. on Sunday (Korea time). Bento said, “The second Group C match against Palestine was difficult. We were short of one due to early exit. We will face a stronger team in the final match, but we have strategic plans.” 토토사이트 추천
Iran is also constantly participating in the FIFA World Cup finals and has the highest FIFA ranking among Asian teams. Bento is one of the familiar opponents as he has played against Iran while leading the Korean national team.
“Iran is the strongest team in Group C. I think it is the strongest team in Asia right now,” he stressed. “We will do our best to produce the best result, but we expect difficult matches tomorrow as well. We have played against Iran for the past four to five years. We had two official matches and one friendly match. We have to approach Iran in various ways.”
Bento led the Korean national team to the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar. As it was a place where he made a miracle by defeating Portugal, he changed teams, but expectations are high. When asked about this at the press conference, he said, “I know the fans and the media have high expectations. I can’t do anything about that. Many people’s expectations are not something I can control.”
The media also responded sharply. “We would like to win the championship, but I wonder what the rationale is for thinking that. I want to ask if that has happened to us at least once. Isn’t it? It’s hard to understand the high expectations, but I think we have those expectations. We have to approach step by step. The players showing their best performance in every game, which should be what I expect and what we expect,” Bento said.