This Feb. 18, 2024, file photo shows the flag bearing the logo of the Korea Football Association outside its headquarters in Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jun. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — With the second round of the World Cup qualification in the books, South Korea will resume their search for the new head coach for the men’s national team.
South Korea played their final four matches in the second round of the Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup under two different caretaker managers: Hwang Sun-hong for two contests in March and Kim Do-hoon for two more this month. They had three wins and one draw in those four matches, capped by a 1-0 victory over China on Tuesday night in Seoul.
South Korea’s caretaker manager Kim Do-hoon directs his players against China during the teams’ Group C match in the second round of the Asian World Cup qualification at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul on June 11, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
South Korea qualified for the third round with ease, and the next phase kicks off in September. Over the next couple of months, the Korea Football Association (KFA) will look to fill the coaching vacancy on the men’s squad, a task now long overdue.
The KFA sacked the previous head coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, on Feb. 16, in the aftermath of South Korea’s semifinal loss at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. With little time left before South Korea’s next set of games — two World Cup qualifying matches against Thailand on March 21 and 26 — the KFA settled on Hwang Sun-hong, then head coach of the men’s under-23 national team, as the temporary bench boss.
The KFA then began its coaching search in earnest in early April, announcing that it planned to interview 11 candidates. Chung Hae-sung, the top KFA official in the searching process as head of the National Teams Committee, said the goal was to name the new head coach by early May or the middle of May at the latest.
And by the end of April, the KFA had narrowed down the list of candidates to three — all of them foreign nationals. Though the KFA didn’t publicly disclose those names, it was a poorly-kept secret that Jesse Marsch, former Leeds United head coach, was in the running.
In this file photo from March 26, 2024, South Korean caretaker manager Hwang Sun-hong watches his team play Thailand in a Group C match in the second round of the Asian World Cup qualification tournament at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
However, Marsch ended up taking the Canadian men’s job on May 13, after his talks with the KFA fell through, apparently over his salary demand.
Senol Gunes, former Turkey national team head coach who has worked in the South Korean league, was also reportedly considered, but Turkish media reports claiming Gunes had accepted a three-year offer from the KFA turned out to be false.
At the end of May, Spanish media reported that former FC Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez had spurned an offer from South Korea.
With one name after another coming off the list and none entering the rumor mill, the KFA was forced to go with another temporary head coach for the two June matches. Following Tuesday’s win, Kim said he hoped he would be the last caretaker manager for South Korea.
“I hope we will have a new head coach who can guide South Korean football in the right direction,” Kim said. “I think we are capable of winning the possession battles and controlling matches. With the players that are available, I think we have to play a proactive brand of football.”
Now, it is up to the KFA to find a tactician who can make that happen.
The draw for the third round in the World Cup qualification is June 27. The third round will kick off Sept. 5 and conclude on June 10, 2025.
(Yonhap)
