Costa, the Head Coach Replacing Bento, Says "We Deserve to Win"

= On the morning of the 3rd (Korean time) at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, the Group H third match of the 2022 Qatar World Cup between South Korea and Portugal took place. Sergiu Costa, the head coach who took the bench in place of Paulo Bento, is waiting for the match to start.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] "We deserved to beat Portugal"

The South Korea national football team succeeded in advancing to the Round of 16 in their second World Cup away game, and head coach Sergiu Costa shared his thoughts.

The Korean team recorded a 2-1 comeback victory against Portugal in the third match of Group H at the Qatar World Cup, held at the Al Rayyan Education City Stadium on the morning of the 3rd (Korean time). South Korea conceded a goal just 5 minutes into the first half, but secured 3 points by Kim Younggwon's goal in the 27th minute of the first half and Hwang Hee-chan's winning goal in stoppage time of the second half, rising to second place in the group.

With 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss (4 points), South Korea confirmed their advancement to the Round of 16 by having a better goal difference than Uruguay, who won 2-0 against Ghana at the same time.

Coach Paulo Bento was unable to sit on the bench during this match. After protesting a decision following the previous Group H second match against Ghana, Bento received a red card and was sent off, so he had to watch the game from the stands. Sergiu Costa, the head coach, led the team in his place.

After the match against Portugal, head coach Costa said at the official press conference, "Coach Bento should have been sitting here now. I prefer sitting next to the coach."

He continued, "Coach Bento is truly an excellent coach. He has guided the team very thoroughly, pointing out every detail," and added, "Since there are only 72 hours left until the next match (Round of 16 knockout), we will properly recover, train, and prepare."

Head coach Costa emphasized, "We deserved to win," and said, "All players and coaching staff deserve to enjoy this victory together." He also added, "We tried to implement a different strategy in today's match, and the tactics were well reflected in that regard."

When asked if there was prior communication with Coach Bento before the match, head coach Costa replied, "No. We couldn't have direct communication during the game," but explained, "Coach Bento only informed us of the overall strategy, and it was impossible to convey detailed situations during the 90 minutes."

He went on to say, "We have always believed that advancing to the Round of 16 was possible," emphasizing, "We knew our team's strengths and weaknesses well, and we analyzed all the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing teams, holding the ambition to reach the Round of 16."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.