Bento is cut, Casas today tomorrow... What about Hong Myungbo?
Bento is cut, Casas today tomorrow... What about Hong Myungbo?
Blog Article
Paulo Bento, the head coach of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was abruptly replaced by the UAE Football Association eight hours after a dramatic 2-1 victory over North Korea on the 26th. The fact that the person who led South Korea to the round of 16 at the 2022 Qatar World Cup was dismissed despite his not-so-bad performance in Group A, which was called the "Group of Death," shows the precarious reality of Asian soccer leaders.
Iraqi coach Jesus Casas, who was the final candidate for the Korean national team's leadership, was also virtually dismissed after losing to the Palestinians on the same day. Coach Shin Tae-yong was also dismissed immediately after being eliminated from the group stage of the Mitsubishi Cup despite his various achievements in Indonesia.
Although tickets for the finals in Asia have been expanded to 8.5 tickets starting from the 2026 North-China World Cup, the decision by the football associations is getting bolder. Relations with the association, public opinion, and short-term slump all contribute to the decision to replace the coach. This is why all eyes are on Korean national soccer team coach Hong Myung-bo, who failed to make it to the finals at an early stage due to weak performance.
Behind Bento's Replacement, Relationship Becomes More Important Than Performance
Bento led the UAE to the third place in Group A (13 points) and secured a place in the playoffs. However, he was dismissed as the team failed to advance to the finals on its own due to a gap with Uzbekistan (17 points). Local media pointed out that Bento's stubbornness caused discord with the Korea Football Association. The team failed to make it to the round of 16 at the Asian Cup and failed to make it to the group stage at the Gulf Cup (two draws and one loss).
Behind the scenes, he has more complicated situations. He stuck to his own philosophy even in the UAE, and was praised for being passive in selecting popular players as the association wanted. He reportedly had friction with the association over the appointment of veteran players including Ali Mavkut (Al Jazeera Club), also known as Son Heung-min from the UAE.
Kasas was leading Iraq to the third place (12 points) in Group B along with Korea, but the Iraqi Football Association is taking steps to dismiss him after suffering a shocking come-from-behind loss to the lowest-ranked Palestinians. According to Iraqi media, Kasas was criticized for his inconsistent management, including hiring 65 players in 34 matches and replacing the starting lineup 161 times.
World Cup threshold has been lowered, but expectations have risen
There are several backgrounds for the frequent replacement of coaches since the regional qualifying period. First of all, the perception that it has become "easy" to advance to the World Cup finals raised expectations of football associations in each country. In the past, when about 4.5 tickets were allocated to Asia, only the third place in the group was considered good, but now the competition for the first and second places, which can go directly to the finals, has intensified.
For the second time, the development of SNS has increased the influence of public opinion on the decision of the Korea Football Association. In Indonesia, after the replacement of Shin Tae-yong, he is spreading the "STYback" hashtag by watching his slump under the Patric Clawibert system. After Bento's replacement, some UAE fans cheered by leaving comments, saying, "I'm more happy about this (the hard news) than the advance to the World Cup."
Director Hong Myung-bo, Chairman Chung Mong-gyu's unstable performance amid thick trust
Korea is a little different. For now, Coach Hong Myung-bo of the Korean national soccer team is stably taking the helm through a strong trust relationship with Chung Mong-gyu, president of the KFA. However, no one knows when the wind of Asian soccer team's change of coach will blow to Korea. Coach Hong Myung-bo, who made good performance, loses his position when he loses the position. 안전놀이터
Hong has recently shown limitations in his tactical capabilities. He has maintained the top position in Group B with four wins and four draws (16 points), but cannot highly appreciate his 50% win rate in a group that is relatively weak. Notably, criticism is mounting as the team had only two consecutive draws at home with Oman and Jordan, which it played recently. Critics are also criticized for including details of games in which the balance between offense and defense has collapsed and the appointment of players who only use players.
Chung Mong-kyu, president of the association, thanked his fans on social media after the two consecutive World Cup qualifying home games, but said, "It's a disappointing result." The line-up of coaches with ties to South Korea, including Bento and Casas, can be a heavy warning sound for coach Hong Myung-bo in crisis.