South Korea’s assistant coach Sergio Costa said Monday’s 3-2 defeat to Ghana was an unfair result for the Asian side, whose World Cup campaign is stalling and the team are bottom of Group H.
Cho Gue-sung’s brace was not enough for South Korea to stage a comeback against Ghana in a match where the Koreans dominated the first exchanges but paid the price for making mistakes.
South Korea have one point from a goalless draw with Uruguay and they need to beat Portugal in Friday’s final group game to have any hope of reaching the last 16. Portugal and Uruguay will meet later on Monday.
Costa addressed the post-match press conference after head coach Paulo Bento was shown a red card for his protests in the last minute of the game when the referee blew the whistle as South Korea was about to take a corner kick.
“In the first 25 minutes we were able to control the game with possession and that was very good. We made good passes and accomplished our strategy for the game. After the first goal, things changed until the end of the first half,” said Costa.
“At that point we lost control. The second half was completely different: we had control, possession and created chances to score.
“The result is totally unfair. Even a draw would not have been fair. We clearly deserved a win… count on us for the next game.”
South Korean players looked dejected after the game as they fell to the ground, while captain and star player Son Heung-min burst into tears.
Asked about their response, Costa said: “The response is from a group that felt a lack of honesty at the end. It is normal for a person to (so to react when) he has done everything to win, but has not succeeded.
“I think we should be sad and have a sense of injustice, but we should also be very proud that we gave everything on the pitch.”
Bento’s red card means the Portuguese will not be sidelined as South Korea take on his native country, captained by Cristiano Ronaldo.
“He won’t be there on game day and that will be a loss for us because he’s a great manager… .