Bento scored 4 goals in his UAE debut

Paulo Bento, who coached South Korea to the round of 16 at last year's World Cup succor finals in Qatar last year, has enjoyed a convincing win on his debut match as the coach for the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE scored three goals in the first half alone in its 4-1 win in a friendly match against Costa Rica in Zagreb, Croatia, on Wednesday. The UAE is ranked 72nd in the FIFA rankings, more than 20 places above Costa Rica (46th), and the three-goal victory was a surprising upset. The UAE thus scored four goals in a single match under Bento after scoring just four goals overall in all five of their previous matches. Prior to the game, UAE media said, "Bento has had a detailed understanding of the UAE league and the players. He also has the absolute trust of the players in the national team." Costa Rica had beaten Saudi Arabia 3-1 four days earlier, the same team that South Korea beat 1-0 on Wednesday.

The day before, Japan extended its winning streak to four matches in a row, scoring four or more goals in four consecutive matches. Japan won 4-2 against Turkey in Henk, Belgium, on Tuesday. Japan replaced 10 of the same 11 players from its starting lineup in the game against Germany (Japan’s 4-1 win) two days earlier but still managed to pull off the two-goal victory. Japan has been on a robust scoring spree lately, scoring 18 goals in their last four A matches.


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com