The Korea Football Association (KFA) National Team Strengthening Committee held its third meeting on the 27th and announced that it appointed Hwang Sun-hong as the interim head coach to lead the national team during the March A-match. 메이저 토토사이트
Accordingly, Hwang will lead the A team in two consecutive games against Thailand in the second qualifying round for the 2026 North-Central America World Cup (on March 21 and 26).
Chairman Jung Hae-sung, who was a presenter on the day, explained about the process of appointing the coach, "We agreed that the leader who is a member of the KFA or has a lot of experience, but is not currently in charge of the team should be in charge."
As Hwang is already leading the U-23 national team, he is not a leader who is not in charge of the team. Hwang should immediately participate in the U-23 Asian Cup, which will determine his eligibility to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Chairman Chung justified the appointment of Hwang, saying, "If necessary in other countries' associations, the head coach of the A national team may serve at the same time under the age of 23."
However, Hwang is set to display good performance in the upcoming event. It's like blocking a player from competing in the final prelude to the Paris Olympics. Such a situation is not common at all.
Hwang was scheduled for the last exhibition match before the Asian Cup at the end of March. However, as he took over the A-team due to the KFA's decision, he could not concentrate.
South Korea's U-23 national team is in a group with Japan, China, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the Asian Cup, and it cannot be easily confident of advancing to the quarterfinals tournament, which goes up to second place in the group.
They need to be in the top three at the Asian Cup to qualify for the Paris Olympics. If they finish the tournament in fourth place, they will go through a playoff with an African team. There are many variables due to the nature of the U-23 tournament. It is an age-specific tournament where it is hard to predict which team will compete with which strength.
The Korean national team A is set to hold two consecutive games against Thailand. The Thai national team has shown itself to be a formidable opponent through the Asian Cup, but the Korean national team, which has overwhelming power, is taking victory for granted. On top of that, the Korean team should display good performance until the U-23 Asian Cup, which will be held in April. The burden on Hwang is too high.
On the process of appointing Hwang Sun-hong, Hwang said, "I offered Hwang a temporary coach position on the 25th. He said he needed time to think about it, and accepted it yesterday (on the 26th). He conveyed his intentions to the committee members through the third meeting today and listened to their opinions accordingly. In addition, he said, "From the next meeting, we will continue discussions on the next official coach from a long-term perspective," but the process was reportedly not smooth.
First of all, according to Article 12 of the Korean Football Association's regulations on the appointment of national team coaches, coaches, trainers, etc. are appointed by the board of directors at the recommendation of the national team's power reinforcement committee or technology development committee in accordance with the criteria for selecting national team leaders. Therefore, the power reinforcement committee has no right to appoint a national soccer team coach. However, Chairman Chung Hae-sung said he appointed Hwang Sun-hong and declared his future moves.
According to the KFA's regulations, the decision is made by a board of directors that includes Chairman Chung Mong-gyu. However, Chairman Chung Hae-sung and the Korea Power Enhancement Committee made the decision without authority
The committee did not just ignore the rules. Jung also ignored the procedures. "What was decided at the second round of reinforcement was to immediately investigate the players who will play the two consecutive matches against Thailand and create a group of candidates," multiple sources in the soccer community said. "There was no particular conclusion."
"As a result, the members of the reinforcement committee decided to conclude the final candidate at the 3rd reinforcement committee and prepared for that part. But suddenly, Chairman Chung Hae-sung informed the first candidate of the appointment of the coach and brought up the story that he accepted it. The 3rd reinforcement committee was in a state of shouting because of the problem, but it eventually came to a conclusion with the director's acceptance," he said, expressing the internal atmosphere.
He has not reflected on and learned anything about the problems that have occurred since the appointment of Jurgen Klinsmann, who is considered the worst mistake in the history of Korean soccer. Chairman Chung Mong-gyu bowed his head, saying, "I think the overall responsibility lies with me, the Korea Football Association. I will evaluate the cause in more detail and take countermeasures from now on," but the KFA has not changed.
Again, there was no process or system. It was the process of appointing a temporary coach, not an official one, but the KFA, which had already lost all public trust due to the Klinsmann incident, repeated the same mistake again.
Meanwhile, coach Hwang Sun-hong said, "I am concerned and worried because the Olympic qualifiers are tight. I will make every effort to prepare for the qualifying round in April through close consultation with the coaches," adding, "The Korean national team will also prepare for the second consecutive tournament in Thailand with good results."
He added, "The people are very concerned about Korean soccer. I will do my best with responsibility to ease my worries. I ask for your support in the national team."