Paulo Bento announced he would not be staying on as coach of South Korea after they were eliminated from the World Cup with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Brazil on Monday.
“Now I need to think about the future, but I will not be with the Korea team. I am going to rest and then see,” the 53-year-old former Portugal coach said after the loss in the last 16.
“I have just told the players and the president of the national federation.
“This is a decision which I took in September. It was set in stone and today I confirmed it. I have to thank them and am very proud to have been their manager.”
Bento took over following the 2018 World Cup, succeeding Shin Tae-yong.
In Qatar, he led South Korea to the knockout round for the first time since 2010 with a last-gasp win over Portugal in their final group game.
However, they were outclassed by Brazil as they found themselves four goals down before half-time at Doha’s Stadium 974, although they did pull one back late on through substitute Paik Seung-ho.