Korean coach: 'The hypocrite said he wanted Neymar to play'

* Brazil - Korea: 2pm on Tuesday, December 6, on MetaSports.

"Only hypocrites would say they'd rather confront Neymar than see him sitting out. That's definitely a lie," Bento told Chosun newspaper on December 4. "But honestly, I like the best players to be on the pitch. If they're absent, I hope it's not because of injuries."

The 53-year-old military leader also confirmed that Korea has made plans to deal with Neymar's ability to play, in addition to competitive tactics against a talented team of Brazil.

Neymar injured his right ankle in the opening leg against Serbia and missed the rest of the group stage. Brazilian media used to worry that the 30-year-old striker would be out until the end of the World Cup 2022, but coach Tite confirmed that the student had recovered and was in the best shape to play in the Korean match.

In the final round of the group stage, beating Portugal 3-2, coach Bento was suspended and had to watch the match in the stands. He said he experienced many emotions when watching Korea against the home team. "It wasn't an ideal situation, but I tried my best to go into the game with a professional mindset. When the game started, I tried to enjoy as much as I could," Bento said.

Watching the victory over Portugal, Bento insisted that he didn't need to say anything to give Korea more motivation, because the team's spirit was very high. He believes that Korea will create another surprise at the tournament, although he admits Brazil is the strongest champion candidate. "What we want to show is the image of a team that wants to compete and fight until the final whistle," added Bento.

Brazil have beaten South Korea in all four of their last four encounters with South Korea since 2002, including a 5-1 win in a friendly match in Seoul in June. At that time, Neymar scored a double penalty, while Richarlison contributed one. table. However, according to Bento, the match on the 974 field is very different from a friendly match, and he expects the students to show a more positive face. "We will try to seal the box, because Brazil will push us deep, and we accept that. Korea will fight in the best way possible," Bento said.