With World Cup squad out, S. Korea coach not looking past 1st match

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- Now that he has unveiled his 26-man roster for the FIFA World Cup kicking off later this month, South Korea head coach Paulo Bento said Saturday his focus remains solely on the opening group match a dozen days away.

Bento named three goalkeepers, nine defenders, 12 midfielders and two forwards for the big tournament in Qatar. South Korea's first match in Group H is against Uruguay on Nov. 24.

"We've been preparing for the World Cup for a long time. Now, the main goal is to prepare the team as well as possible after arriving in Qatar and focus on the first game," Bento said at a press conference after announcing his team. He and his players will travel to Qatar early Monday.

"The goal is to prepare the team in the right way to face strong opponents that we must face," Bento added. "Of course, we should have the best strategy for each game, but we think that the focus for now should be on the first game."

South Korea are regarded as underdogs in the group and will face an uphill climb to make it to the knockouts. Injuries to captain Son Heung-min and top left fullback Kim Jin-su, who were still named to the squad but whose timelines for return remain up in the air, will only make life tougher for the Taegeuk Warriors.

But Bento said, "The last feeling we should have is concern."

"If you're concerned to play in the World Cup, imagine how we should be when we don't play in the World Cup," Bento said. "I am happy because we achieved the goal of helping the team qualify for the World Cup. Now, it's time to be professional, be humble and enjoy the biggest competition."

There were few players who could be reasonably considered a surprise choice. One player, defender Park Ji-su, would have earned his spot on the team had it not been for an ankle injury he suffered in South Korea's last tuneup match against Iceland on Friday night.

Bento acknowledged making last-minute roster cuts was tough for the coaching staff, but he tried to get players to understand this was all "part of football."

"We could only call up 26 players. They knew since the beginning that not all of them would be selected," the head coach said. "I am sure that I was honest with them. I tried to be fair."

From Group H, Portugal and Uruguay have announced their World Cup rosters, stacked with high-level talent. But Bento said he didn't need to study those names -- including Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal and Luis Suarez for Uruguay -- to understand the degree of difficulty for South Korea's World Cup journey.

Bento insisted no matter how daunting the task is, his team's objective hasn't changed.

"Our goal is clear: to compete as well as possible in order to achieve the best possible results," Bento said. "Even competing with the high-level performance from all sides, we're going to feel many difficulties because on the other side, there are very good, strong teams."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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