Cameroon friendly gives Paulo Bento one last chance to get it right

Football

Published: 26 Sep. 2022, 11:03

Cameroon friendly gives Paulo Bento one last chance to get it right

Korea head coach Paulo Bento reacts against Costa Rica at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi on Friday. [NEWS1]

Korean head coach Paulo Bento has a lot to prove as the national team take on Cameroon in a friendly on Tuesday with less than two months to go before the 2022 Qatar World Cup kicks off and little evidence of a cohesive strategy visible in last week’s 2-2 draw with Costa Rica.

Ahead of the two tune-up friendlies, Bento said that he intended to use different strategies in both games. But after the disappointing results of his chosen approach in the first game, the Portuguese coach is now under a fair amount of pressure to deliver something a bit more reassuring against Cameroon on Tuesday.

The Cameroon game could be something of a watershed moment for the team ahead of the World Cup. Once that game’s over there will be a few more days of training before everybody jets off to rejoin their respective clubs for a month and a half of league play before reconvening just a couple of days before the opening game in Qatar.

For Bento and the team, there is very little time left.

Korea visibly struggled to get the draw against the lower-ranked Costa Rica on Friday, as a particularly aggressive approach left some gaping holes in the defense and too many bodies at the front to do anything particularly useful.

Korea played with very little effort to hold together an effective midfield, instead attempting to pile at least six men into the box at every opportunity, leaving no room for anybody to work and certainly no chance for captain Son Heung-min to attempt the quick breakaway attacks he favors.

Two of those six men were — at least on paper — defenders, with the left back Kim Jin-su and especially right back Yoon Jong-gyu ranging deep up the wings to assist on the offensive. That strategy has worked for Korea before, but it was poorly executed on Friday, leaving Kim Min-jae and Kim Young-gwon alone at the back and unable to stop the frequent Costa Rican attacks.

Hwang Ui-jo reacts during a game against Costa Rica at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi on Friday. [NEWS1]

At the other end of the pitch there wasn’t much to get excited about, as the majority of the core Taeguk Warriors proved largely ineffective.

Hwang Ui-jo and Kwon Chang-hoon both made early exits in the second half after some especially disappointing performances. Both national team regulars missed multiple chances in front of goal, either losing control completely or sending the ball flying over the bar.

Son also had a disappointing game, missing multiple opportunities, often by quite some distance. Part of that was down to the pressing defense, but that’s inevitably something Korea need to be able to neutralize — there isn’t going to be a single team at the World Cup that hasn’t worked out that Son needs to be aggressively marked.

Son Heung-min reacts during a game against Costa Rica at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi on Friday. [YONHAP]

The Tottenham Hotspur forward did provide goal No. 2, a direct free kick from just outside the box that he sent curling into the top right corner. The goal was a perfectly executed free kick, but it was only because Esteban Alvarado slightly misjudged where his own box ended and earned a direct red card for an intentional handball that Son had the opportunity at all.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom. Hwang Hee-chan did put in a solid performance that belied his terrible club statistics over the past seven months.

As well as securing Korea’s opening goal in the 28th minute with a lovely effort from the edge of the box, Hwang Hee-chan ran circles around the Costa Rica defense and appeared to create more opportunities than the majority of his teammates combined.

Hwang Hee-chan celebrates after scoring the opening goal for Korea against Costa Rica at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi on Friday. [NEWS1]

Hwang In-beom also had a good game, providing some very well-placed crosses and generally managing not to lose the ball at every opportunity, and Na Sang-ho, Hong Chul and Jeong Woo-yeong, who all came on in the second half, showed some potential, although none of them were on the pitch long enough to do any damage.

Against Cameroon there are likely to be some personnel changes. Veteran midfielder Lee Jae-sung stayed stuck firmly on the bench against Costa Rica, as did 21-year-old Lee Kang-in, whose three assists and a goal in six La Liga games this season were apparently not enough to convince Bento to give him a go.

Bento is highly likely to give both players a go on Tuesday, potentially with some of the other young stars like Cho Young-wook and Paik Seung-ho.

After the shambles on Friday the defensive tactic is likely to change — presumably to actually focus on defense — and that may also include the addition of some more experienced faces like Hong Chul or Kwon Kyung-won, both of who came on as defenders against Costa Rica.

At No. 38 in the world to Korea’s No. 28 and Costa Rica’s No. 34, Cameroon should provide a slightly easier target. Korea has never lost to the African country, with two wins and two draws to date, although the two sides haven’t faced off since 2001.

But Cameroon is still a top-40 footballing country and shouldn’t be underestimated, hopefully a lesson Bento has learned from the Costa Rica game. Soft target or not, a good result on Tuesday will be crucial to help carry the Taeguk Warriors and the Korean fans into the World Cup campaign.

Korea will take on Cameroon at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]