Benvurji's Advice After Watching the World Cup: "This Should Be Rebuilt From the Ground Up, Not Blamed on One or Two People"

[Financial News] "This kind of situation is usually not something that can be blamed on just one or two people."Paulo Bento, the former coach of South Korea's national football team, has spoken out after the team was eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage with a shocking 34th-place finish.
In an interview with Yonhap News on the 1st, Bento said, "It is important to go back to the very beginning, clearly acknowledge each person's responsibility, and rebuild by reviewing everything from one to ten from the ground up."
Led by coach Hong Myung-bo, South Korea finished the group stage with one win and two losses, placing 34th among 48 teams and failing to advance to the round of 32. The result alone was shocking enough, but even more painful was the team's poor performance in its final Group A match against South Africa.
Bento said he closely watched South Korea's group-stage matches during the tournament and added, "This result is hard to accept, but in football, it is not uncommon for an underdog to beat a stronger team."
He stressed that "this time, South Korea was simply on the receiving end of that upset, and the key is whether the team can learn from this failure and move forward." Bento also looked back on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, when the team he led reached the round of 16 for the first time in 12 years.

Bento recalled, "When I first took the job, my biggest focus was building the team's own tactical identity together and creating a way for everyone to lead one another." He added, "I considered it most important to strengthen the system based on mutual trust with the players and to make them believe in themselves and in the process."
He went on to say that the team went through many crises and difficult moments, but because they trusted one another, they were able to show resilience even in a do-or-die situation before the final group match against Portugal. He said that the strong trust between the coach, staff, and players was one of the driving forces behind the round-of-16 run four years ago.
Bento also pointed to consistency as an essential condition for Korean football to regain competitiveness. He said the difference in the amount of time available to build as a single team likely affected the outcome as well. Unlike him, who was able to lead the team continuously for more than four years, the current squad has gone through four managers in four years, making good results harder to achieve.
Bento said, "This is something the Korea Football Association should consider as it thinks about its next steps." He added, "A coach must be given enough time to build trust with the players, maximize their strengths, and establish a clear style of play."
Finally, he said, "I know there will be many internal changes, including at the association's board and leadership level." He added, "But the most important point is that everyone involved must calmly examine and reflect on their own roles and responsibilities from their respective positions in order to lead Korean football in a better direction."
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter