According to overseas media Asian Football Network, the Korea Football Association has officially entered the final stage of selecting an interim head coach for the national team. A special negotiating delegation, consisting of Hyun Young-min, chairman of the national team committee, Kim Jong-yoon (transliteration), technical director, and a dedicated contract lawyer, has departed for Europe to conduct face-to-face contract negotiations with priority candidates.
Following Hong Myung-bo's departure after the 2026 World Cup group stage (1 win, 2 losses), the Korea Football Association immediately initiated an open recruitment process in accordance with Korea Sports Council regulations. After document review and online interviews conducted between August 19 and 21, the evaluation committee established a priority ranking of final candidates.
The delegation is currently in Europe conducting direct negotiations with the top-ranked candidate. Although the Korea Football Association maintains strict confidentiality regarding the specific ranking order, interviewed candidates include well-known coaches such as former Spain national team coach Luis Enrique, Pep Guardiola's long-time assistant Domenec Torrent, former Iraq national team coach Jesús Casas, and Erwin Koeman. If terms cannot be agreed upon with the preferred candidate, negotiations will immediately shift to the second-ranked option.
Officially, the new interim head coach will be responsible for six international friendly matches from September to November, kicking off with matches against Ecuador on September 24 and Uruguay on September 28, followed by matches against Venezuela and Uzbekistan in October.
However, sources indicate that this tenure is likely to extend well beyond November. With the KFA president position currently vacant and the administrative election timetable yet to be determined, appointing a permanent head coach before year-end faces significant institutional obstacles. Therefore, the incoming head coach is likely to lead the Taeguk Warriors in the AFC Asian Cup to be held in Saudi Arabia.
Assembling an entire coaching staff of five to seven coaches requires intricate negotiations, making an August appointment impossible. However, if negotiations with the priority candidate conclude swiftly, the KFA plans to complete the national team committee report and board approval process, announcing the new interim head coach as early as the first week of September.
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