Coach Paulo Bento, who led the World Cup round of 16 in Korea, returns to Asia again.
Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, an expert on European football, reported on social media on the 9th (Korean time) that “It was understood that coach Paulo Bento had agreed to become the new hunting tower for the UAE soccer team.”메이저놀이터
As a former coach of the Korean national soccer team, coach Bento, who led the Taegeuk Warriors and led Korea to the round of 16 at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, put down the lead of the national team after four years as the contract with the Korea Football Association expired in December of last year and returned to Korea. left.
During the World Cup group stage, Korea was in Group H with Portugal, Uruguay, and Ghana, so it was expected that it would be difficult to advance to the round of 16, but coach Bento surprised the world by advancing Korea to the tournament.
Coach Bento, who had a little break after leaving Korea, has been connected with various teams, including English Premier League clubs, but no team has yet appeared to actively court Bento.
It has already been more than half a year since he left the scene, and Bento drew attention when he decided to return to Asia rather than return to the European stage.
Reporter Romano said, “It is understood that coach Paulo Bento has agreed to become the new coach of the UAE national team. He has agreed to a three-year contract with the UAE until 2026. The contract will be signed tomorrow (10th). .
On the 8th, Bento’s home country Portugal’s leading newspaper, ‘Hecord’, also said, “Former Korean national team coach Bento is negotiating with the UAE for the position of national team coach.” After that, I will return to Asia once again.”
The UAE has only advanced to the World Cup finals once, the 1990 Italy World Cup, but it is evaluated as a team that can never be ignored in the Middle East.
In addition, as the number of tickets to the finals allocated to Asia increased from 4.5 to 8.33 from the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026, expectations in the UAE that they can advance to the World Cup after 36 years have increased.
The UAE, which wants to advance to the World Cup finals, has entrusted coach Bento, who has successfully led Korea, as the helm until the 2026 World Cup. As a result, Bento faced Korea as an enemy in the World Cup Asian regional qualifiers.
While the schedule for the preliminary rounds in Asia has already been announced, Korea and the UAE will be able to meet in the final rounds, not the first and second rounds. Based on the FIFA (International Football Federation) ranking, the top 8 Asian countries do not meet in the second round of the World Cup starting in November, but UEFA’s FIFA ranking is 72nd, 8th in Asia. Korea ranked 28th, the fourth highest after Japan (20th), Iran (22nd), and Australia (27th).
If Korea and the UAE belong to the 18 teams that pass through the second qualifying round, the 18 teams can be divided into three groups and the second place in the group can face each other in the third qualifying round, which goes directly to the World Cup finals. The draw for the 1st and 2nd rounds of the Asian regional qualifiers will be held on the 27th in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
With Bento, who has good memories with Korea, returning to Asia and being able to face the Taegeuk Warriors as enemies, attention is focusing on what kind of leadership he will show in the UAE.