News: Paulo Bento to depart as manager of South Korean national team | OneFootball

Paulo Bento will not renew his contract as manager of the South Korean national team, the Portuguese has confirmed. Bento's last match in charge was, therefore, the 4-1 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar loss to Brazil in the Round of 16. Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty Images

The decision was "set in stone" and "already taken in September," he said in the post-match press conference following South Korea's 4-1 Round of 16 loss to Brazil in what was the last-ever match at Stadium 974 in Doha - a temporary venue set up especially for the World Cup.

"I have to think about the future. It will not be with the national team for South Korea. I just told the players, the president of the Korea Football Association."

Bento, having been appointed in August 2018 with his first match in charge coming the following month, was South Korea's longest-serving manager and had a win percentage of 63 from 57 matches.

In competitive matches, this was 68.7% percent having won 22 of 32 in charge.

Under his stewardship, Korea lost just five competitive matches and drew five.

Bento's tenure began on September 7th with a 2-0 friendly win over Costa Rica in Goyang and a 0-0 draw with Chile four days later.

His first competitive matches in charge of the Taeguk Warriors were at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, winning all three of Korea's group stage matches and the round of 16 match with Bahrain before bowing out at the quarter-final stage to eventual winners Qatar.

He did, however, win the 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championships in South Korea where his team won three matches out of three, including a 1-0 victory over Japan in the trophy-clinching clash.

He handed debuts to 37 players, including several members of his World Cup squad such as Hwang In-beom, Kim Moon-hwan, Cho Yu-min, Paik Seung-ho, Jeong Woo-yeong, Lee Kang-in, Kim Moon-hwan, Song Min-kyu, and Cho Gue-sung.

Meanwhile, according to Asia Economy, the KFA are looking at Choi Yong soo, current Gangwon FC boss and a former Korean international striker, or Kim Hak-bum who won the 2018 Asian Games with the under-23 squad as Bento's replacement.