Paulo Bento leaves role as South Korea manager following World Cup thrashing at the hands of Brazil

South Korea manager Paulo Bento has announced he will be leaving his role with immediate effect.

Bento – who was sent-off against Ghana in the group stages - saw his team beaten 4-1 by Brazil inside Doha’s Stadium 974, put to the sword by the tournament favourites in their first game at this stage since 2010.

The 53-year-old took over in 2018 and suffered a disappointing quarter-final exit in the 2019 Asian Cup, despite winning 35 of his 57 games in charge.

Bento said the decision had been made months ago and was not impacted by anything that happened in Qatar.

"I’ve just announced it to the players and president, it was a decision set in stone in September and I thanked them for everything they’ve done," he said at the post-match news conference.

"I’m pleased and proud to have been their manager for more than four years. Now I’m going to rest and see what happens next.