The news is that former South Korea national soccer team coach Paulo Bento (56) is one of the leading candidates for the next head coach of the China national soccer team.
Chinese media 'Sohu' reported on the 16th (Korea time) that 'the China Football Association lost the foreign coach they were interested in to Oman. As a result, former Chongqing coach Paulo Bento has rapidly emerged as a candidate to lead the national team.'
China showed poor performance in the recently concluded 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup). Under interim head coach Dejan Djurdjevic, they lost 0-3 to Korea and 0-2 to Japan, only managing a 1-0 victory against Hong Kong. They finished in 3rd place. After this tournament, coach Djurdjevic returned to coach the China under-21 (U-21) national team.
The China Football Association is actively seeking a foreign coach for the reconstruction of the national team after failing to qualify for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup in June. The top priority had been Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz (72). However, Queiroz recently accepted the offer to coach the Oman national team, leading China to abandon his recruitment.
Among the remaining candidates, Bento has emerged as the most likely figure. 'Sohu' remarked that '56-year-old Bento is relatively young and has extensive experience with national teams. He has led teams from Korea, Portugal, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and during his playing days, he was a representative figure of Portugal's golden generation.' Bento also has a history of leading China Super League's Chongqing Lifan.
After leading Korea to the Round of 16 in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Bento took charge of the UAE national team in July 2023. However, he was dismissed in March of this year. The UAE held Bento responsible for their early exit in the Asian Cup and poor performance in the third round of the World Cup Asia qualifiers.
The UAE team under Bento passed the group stage in the 2024 Asian Cup with 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss, but was eliminated in the Round of 16 by Tajikistan in penalties. At that time, there were strong local criticisms regarding the starting lineup and tactical operations, excluding Ali Mabkhout.
In total, Bento coached the UAE national team in 26 matches, recording 14 wins, 5 draws, and 7 losses. His win rate of about 53.9% was a decent figure, but ultimately did not meet expectations.
Currently, Bento is unemployed.
'Sohu' pointed out that appointing a new coach will not solve all the problems in struggling Chinese football. 'One cannot blame just the coach. The bigger issue is the lack of fundamental skills and tactical understanding among Chinese players. With the current level of performance, the results will not change regardless of who leads the team.'
Furthermore, they lamented, 'Even if Lionel Messi scores two goals in every match, if the defense concedes three goals, it means nothing. There are many players in China who even lack basic ball control. When they face Korea and Japan, it looks like a match between adults and children.'
[Photo] OSEN DB.
[OSEN]