S. Korea football coach unfazed by uncertainty ahead of Pyongyang trip

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- What, me worry?

That's the mindset that South Korea men's football boss Paulo Bento has adopted, despite lingering uncertainty surrounding his team's trip to North Korea for a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match in two weeks.

On Monday, Bento unveiled his 25-man roster for two World Cup qualifiers in October: against Sri Lanka at home on Oct. 10 and against North Korea in Pyongyang five days later. This will be part of the Group H action in the second round of the Asian qualifying campaign.

While the spotlight is admittedly on the all-Korean showdown -- the first of its kind in World Cup qualifying action held in Pyongyang -- Bento insisted he won't look past the first match.

"We won't play just North Korea, and we'll have to prepare ourselves to face Sri Lanka as well," Bento said at a press conference at the Korea Football Association (KFA) House in Seoul. "We've been watching clips from their earlier matches. But what they've done in the past isn't as important as what they're going to do when they play us. We're trying to figure out how they're going to respond to our tactics."

It's not yet been determined exactly when and how Bento's team will travel to Pyongyang. The KFA has said it'd be ideal for the team to cross the border by land to save time, rather than take a detour to Beijing.

It can't help the team to have so much uncertainty so close to the match day, but Bento said he trusts in his administrative staff's ability to prepare the team for contingencies that might arise in the coming days.

"When you prepare for any matches, there are variables that you can control and others you can't control," Bento said. "And there's no point worrying about things we can't control, because no matter how much we stress over them, it won't change anything. So we'll just focus on things we have control over and not waste our energy in unnecessary areas."

The Portuguese coach said he understands "to a certain degree" what it means to South Korean people to see their national football team compete in Pyongyang. This will be the first World Cup qualifier between the Koreas north of the border.

Bento added that while there will surely be a circus atmosphere surrounding the match, his job as the South Korean bench boss is to keep distractions to a minimum.

"My job is to help my players focus on the matches and make sure we get our six points (from the two qualifiers)," Bento said. "I know how South Korean people feel about this match, but the most important thing for us is to win."

Asked if his players may feel intimidated in what could be a hostile environment at Kim Il-sung Stadium, Bento said his team will be further motivated to perform to silence the partisan fans.

"Professional athletes would all want to compete before huge crowds," the coach said. "I don't think our players will be fired up to play at an empty stadium."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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