Coach says S. Korea must improve 'in every aspect' following loss to Saudi Arabia

AL RAYYAN, Qatar, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- Robert Moreno, temporary head coach of the men's national football team, acknowledged Friday that South Korea must improve "in every aspect" in light of their 3-2 loss to Saudi Arabia in their latest friendly match.

South Korea suffered their first loss to Saudi Arabia in a little over 21 years at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Rayyan, just west of Doha, where three different Saudi Arabian players found the back of the net.

Oh Hyeon-gyu and Lee Jae-sung each scored for South Korea in the second half but Moreno's record with the Taegeuk Warriors fell to two wins, one draw and two losses since he took the reins as caretaker manager in September.

"We wanted to deliver a win for our fans and this was a disappointing outcome," Moreno said at his postmatch press conference. "I think the players in particular must have wanted to prove that they had truly become a team, but we fell short."

Moreno rued some defensive breakdowns in the loss, saying, "We committed mistakes that should not be made at national team level and ended up conceding easy goals."

"I think we had enough scoring opportunities to at least walk away with a draw," Moreno added. "We will have a chance to turn things around next Tuesday (against Qatar) and we will try to prepare for it the best we can.

"We must improve in every aspect," the coach continued. "We have to limit the opposition's chances and we definitely have to be sharper defensively. We will have to analyze the video and see exactly where things went wrong, and then come up with solutions for our issues. It will have to start with me as head coach."

Moreno tipped his cap to Saudi Arabia, saying, "We have to admit that Saudi Arabia played a great match."

"They came out pressing with even more intensity than during their run to the Gulf Cup title (in September)," Moreno added.

Moreno rejected the prevailing notion that the Taegeuk Warriors on his watch have been too inconsistent, often playing better in the second half than in the first. He also defended his players' ability to effectively apply pressure on their opponents, despite persistent questions.

Moreno's time with South Korea is running out. The Korea Football Association (KFA) signed him for two months in September to buy some time in its search for a full-time boss ahead of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup, originally set to kick off in January 2027.

The KFA said at the time it would give Moreno a chance to stay on through the Asian Cup if South Korea played well in his first six matches. However, the Taegeuk Warriors have not done well enough to warrant a longer stay for Moreno, and the AFC has also postponed the Asian Cup to December 2027 due to security concerns in the host country.

Asked if he felt confident he could lead South Korea to success at the Asian Cup in about a year's time, Moreno said he did not want to deal with "too many hypotheticals."

"As I often say, I want to focus on things I can control at the moment," he said. "Right now, my job is to go back to our hotel and study the film to figure out what needs to be done to make the team better, and to prepare the team for next week's match against Qatar."