The coach of the South Korean national team, the Portuguese Paulo Bento, considered inhuman this Sunday (4) the period of 72 hours of rest that his selection will have before facing Brazil in the Round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar.
“I don’t remember seeing anything like this after a group stage, having played 72 hours later. I remember playing four days, five days later, but not 72 hours,” the Portuguese told a news conference in Doha.
“I think it is inhumane, something that is not fair. It has to do with a reality that FIFA basically wants: to create less and less conditions for those with less conditions and probably better conditions for those with more conditions”, he added.
On Friday (2) South Korea beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal by 2-1, in the closing game of Group H, a result that qualified them for the round of 16. The match against the Europeans started at 18:00 local time (12:00 GMT) at the Education City stadium, in the capital of Qatar.
The duel against the five-time champions, in which Neymar will possibly be back after two games away due to an injury to his right ankle, will take place this Monday (5), at 4 pm (Brasília time) at stadium 974, also in Doha.
Brazil, classified already in the second round, ended its participation in the first phase also on Friday, which led coach Tite to choose a reserve team, which lost 1-0 to Cameroon.
Due to the “emotional strain” of Korea’s last game in the group stage, Bento rested his players on Saturday and they resumed training on Sunday morning.
“It’s already difficult to compete against a team like Brazil, which in my opinion is the strongest candidate to be world champion,” he said. “Obviously, with these constraints, the more difficult our task will become. In any case, we will try and we will not give up.”
Regarding the presence or not of Neymar, Paulo Bento admitted that the difficulty increases when he is on the field. “Obviously we would be hypocrites if we said that there would be no difference between facing Brazil with Neymar and without him. It’s up to us to try to make the best game possible and draw up the best possible strategy to compete against a great team full of talent.”
The coach said that this Monday’s match is totally different from the friendly in Seoul in which Brazil thrashed South Korea by 5-1. “We cannot compare. It is another game. We will have to prepare for many difficulties. To play in some moments as we intend and like. And in others we will have to use another type of strategy We know how to play closer to our area, and we will have to accept that with some naturalness because the opponent will force us to. our forces”.
As a seasoned news journalist, I bring a wealth of experience to the field. I’ve worked with world-renowned news organizations, honing my skills as a writer and reporter. Currently, I write for the sports section at News Bulletin 247, where I bring a unique perspective to every story.
