"It's always happy when you win," Bento said at the post-match press conference. "I'm especially satisfied because it's a victory that showed our players' talent and quality. I also liked how we played the game, and how we created good moments."

Bento, who was named the new Korea Republic boss on August 17, used a 4-2-3-1 formation against Costa Rica. Under his guidance, the Taeguk Warriors were efficient and aggressive, with seven of 11 shots on target.

"Our goal was to dominate the match for 90 minutes," he said. "Our defence was good and our transition from defence to offence was good. The players executed well and did what they were ordered to do."

Son Heung-min wore the captain's armband instead of Ki Sung-yueng, who had been captain for the past few years. Bento said the switch was made after his team had a long discussion.

"First of all, we played a good game as a team in a new phase," he said. "I can't tell in detail how we decided to choose Son as captain because that's our internal issue, but we had enough talks."

Ki previously hinted at retiring from the national team after the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia but following Bento's appointment, Ki played 45 minutes and earned his 106th cap.

"As far as I know, Ki will stay with the national team," Bento said. "There's no doubt about that."

Korea Republic play Chile next on Tuesday.

Sources: Yonhap, AFP