by Talek Harris
JINAN, China, Aug 1 (AFP) - South Korea coach Jo Bonfrere insisted his team had a bright future despite their disappointing exit from the second round of the Asian Cup.
The South Koreans, labouring under the expectations created by their run to the 2002 World Cup semi-finals, were muscled out 4-3 by Iran in a breathless quarter-final on Saturday.
"In the short time I've worked with the Korean team I think they've improved a lot, and I think that's been confirmed by the way they played here," said Bonfrere, charged with halting a slump when he came into the job last month.
"They played very well and scored a lot of goals. The only problem is choosing the line-up because so many players well -- I can only pick 11 players. That's the only problem for the future."
South Korea were one of the favourites for the title despite struggling in qualifying, prompting the acrimonious departure of Portuguese former coach Humberto Coelho in April.
The top-ranked Asian team recovered from a goalless draw with Jordan at the start of the tournament to re-discover their scoring touch against United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
But the campaign was cut short when they faced their first real test against Iran.
The Koreans, who had not conceded a goal in their three opening fixtures, battled back from a goal down three times before finally being dispatched by Ali Karimi's third late in the second half.
"In the whole game we had to fight and come from behind," Bonfrere said. "We didn't get a chance to come to rest and to play our game before they scored another.
"We fought and we created chances but we weren't as lucky as Iran."
Bonfrere, a surprise appointment after talks broke down with former Senegal boss Bruno Metsu, has repeatedly warned of the unrealistic expectations created by South Korea's astonishing fourth-place finish at the last World Cup.
Earlier in the tournament, UAE coach Aad de Mos described the feat as a "lucky situation" which South Korea would find it impossible to repeat.
The Korean campaign was invigorated by the renaissance of Lee Dong-Gook, top-scorer at the last Asian Cup whose four goals put him back on top of the standings after a spell in the international wilderness.
Lee had been hoping for a repeat of his heroics of 2000, when his golden goal dispatched Iran from the quarter-finals of the Lebanon tournament.