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HONG KONG, Sep 4 (Reuters) – Head coach Paulo Bento wants his South Korean side to work together to find a solution to their scoring problems rather than relying on the talent of Tottenham’s Son Heung-min Hotspur.
The 29-year-old Premier League striker failed to find his way to the net in Thursday’s 0-0 draw against Iraq as the Koreans quietly entered the final round of the Asia qualifiers for the World Cup 2022.
Bento is trying to secure the country’s 10th consecutive appearance in the World Cup finals – and 11th overall – but said he was focusing on a better collective performance when the Taeguk Warriors face Lebanon in Suwon on Tuesday.
“We know how important Son is to the way we play,” Bento said at a press conference, Yonhap News reported. But Son’s struggles “cannot be an excuse.”
“For me, focusing on one player is not the best way for our team. We have to find the collective solution,” he said. “We should watch the game and check what we didn’t do so well, instead of analyzing just one player.”
His was largely ineffective against defensive Iraqis Dick Advocaat as he once again struggled to show his club form for the national team.
While the former Bayer Leverkusen forward has been in prolific form for Spurs, scoring twice in three Premier League games this season and 22 times in all competitions last year, he has only scored one. times in his last eight games for South Korea.
That goal came against Lebanon in the previous qualifying round for Qatar 2022 in June. The pressure will be on Son to have a similar impact on Tuesday.
“I didn’t get enough rest after my club game,” Son said, according to Yonhap.
“I don’t want to talk about my physical condition at the moment because that will seem like an excuse. But it’s obviously difficult to play in Korea just days after flying from Europe.
“I lacked sleep due to the time change, but I’ll try to prepare for the next one as best I can.”
Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by William Mallard
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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