South Korea head coach Paulo Bento insisted his charges paid the price for not turning supremacy into goals after their shock quarter-final exit at Asian Cup 2019.
The Taegeuk Warriors were expected to see off Qatar at Zayed Sports City. But a team that contained Tottenham star Son Heung-min failed to find a way through and Abdelaziz Hatim’s stunning low strike on 78 minutes from distance ultimately sealed a 1-0 win.
“The game was a balanced one and we tried [throughout] to control and dominate the match as we had done previously in the tournament,” the ex-Portugal tactician told reporters, according to the-afc.com.
“When I look back at the 90 minutes we did not create too many chances, but even that was still more than our opponents managed. After the goal, we struck the post and before that we also had chances.
“In our previous games, the margin of our victories were perhaps not as convincing as our general play suggested they should have been. I would agree that we were not as effective as we could have been.
“We were eliminated because we were not as efficient in converting our chances as we should have been.”
Injuries took their toll on a side that defeated holders Germany at World Cup 2018. Newcastle United veteran Ki Sung-yueng was among those sidelined throughout the tournament.
VfL Bochum winger Lee Chung-yong was left frustrated after Korea’s latest attempt to end 59 years of hurt in the Asian Cup ended in defeat.
He said: “I am really sorry for the result. I expected a lot from this tournament and thought we would be in a higher position than we now are.
“I feel responsible for it. As a veteran player, I feel very responsible for not leading the team well, but I hope that the Korean football team will be stronger through these matches.
“Our coach struggled to manage the team because there were several players injured.”
