(World Cup) Bento says S. Korea have 'absolutely nothing to lose' vs. Brazil

By Yoo Jee-ho

AL RAYYAN, Qatar, Dec. 4 (Yonhap) -- With his South Korean team being major underdogs against Brazil in the upcoming round of 16 showdown in Qatar, head coach Paulo Bento said Sunday his side has "absolutely nothing to lose."

"There's only something to win. The only thing we must remember is to show the image of a team that wants to compete and fight until the very last whistle," Bento said at a prematch press conference at the Main Media Centre for the FIFA World Cup in Al Rayyan, west of Doha. "And there's no doubt in my mind that's what my players will do."

The match between world No. 28 South Korea and top-ranked Brazil kicks off at 10 p.m. Monday at Stadium 974 in Doha, or 4 a.m. Tuesday in South Korea.

South Korea upset world No. 9 Portugal in the final Group H match last Friday to reach the knockouts, but few expect South Korea to pull off another stunner against Brazil, five-time World Cup champions.

But Bento said he and his players will not back down, even though he thinks Brazil have a strong chance of capturing their sixth World Cup trophy this year.

"If we were playing Brazil in a tournament, I'd say Brazil will be the champion. But in one match, it won't be like a tournament," Bento said. "We have one chance. We have to respect the outcome."

After the way his players battled against steep odds to get this far, Bento said he doesn't need to give them any pep talk to fire them up.

"I believe if they needed a lot for me to motivate to play the round of 16 at a World Cup, they'd be in a bad spot," he said. "What they proved to us in the first three matches is they are more than motivated. I can get more motivation from them than they from me."

Bento said having to play with only two days off between the final group match and the first knockout match wasn't ideal, with Brazil dealing with the same situation.

Brazil have dominated South Korea in recent meetings, including a 5-1 drubbing in a friendly match in June in Seoul. But Bento refused to make much out of that result, saying, "We can't compare it with an official match."

"In June, we had a series of limitations. Let's see tomorrow if we will be able not to have as many limitations as back in June," he said. "We'll try to compete in the very best manner possible. We'll be playing close to our box, because our opponents will force us to do that and we'll have to accept that. Obviously, we will fight to the utmost of our effort."

Brazil will take a banged-up squad into Monday's nightcap, with their star attacker Neymar having missed the past two group matches with an ankle injury. He's expected to be ready against South Korea.

"We'd be hypocrites if we said that we would prefer playing against Neymar. That'd be a lie," Bento said. "Honestly, I always prefer the best players are on the field. If they are not on the field, we hope it's not because of an injury. We will decide to play the best game and design the best strategy to compete against a great team full of talent."

Asked about trying to match South Korea's magical run to the semifinals from 20 years ago on home soil, Bento said. "We're here to focus on what has to be done tomorrow. After that, we'll see what the future holds."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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