South Korea coach expects ‘different’ Son in Ghana World Cup clash

South Korea coach Paulo Bento said the team would see a “different” Son Heung-min against Ghana on Monday after the forward got used to his face mask during their opening World Cup match.

Son wore the mask during his side’s 0-0 draw against Uruguay in Group H following surgery to repair a fracture around his left eye he suffered earlier this month while playing for Tottenham.

Portuguese boss Bento said he was not worried about his team’s lack of a cutting edge in the first match ahead of their second game in Qatar.

“It’s completely normal to face some challenges during the first game,” he said on Sunday. 

“As far as Son is concerned, he was recently injured and he was also adapting, trying to feel comfortable with the face mask. 

“First he needed to feel at ease with his teammates and afterwards with the opponents. The second game will be different.

“He has already been able to play throughout the 90 minutes and as a team we needed to do our best so that we can take advantage of his skills.”

Bento warned that Ghana, who lost their opening match 3-2 against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, were strong in defence and attack but he talked up his own team.

“We have also players that are playing in the Premier League,” he said. 

“We know it will be a difficult game. We need to be up to the task such as we were in the first game and we expect that we will have better performances both individually and collectively.”

Bento said he did not feel under strain ahead of Monday’s match.

“I feel no pressure whatsoever and I would love our players to feel the way I do but I know they come from a different culture,” said the Portuguese.

“We also deal with the pressure in different ways.”