South Korea's interim head coach 'final candidate priority order' has been set... currently negotiating with the first choice; if talks fail, will move to the second choice

*This content was translated by AI.

A priority negotiation order among candidates for South Korea's national team interim head coach has been established.

A Korea Football Association official informed StarNews on the 27th regarding the selection of an A-team interim head coach: "A negotiation team centered on Hyun-young Jeon Ryeok-gang-hwa (Chairman) has departed abroad." The negotiation team will adjust contract terms with priority candidates at the location.

This means the process of selecting an interim head coach for the national team has effectively reached its final stage.

Previously, the Football Association announced on the 17th that "document screening for applicants who applied as open recruitment candidates for the interim head coach last weekend has been completed."

According to the football community, multiple domestic and foreign coaches applied for this open recruitment for the interim head coach position. The Football Association narrowed down the final candidate pool through document screening and online interviews.

Furthermore, based on the evaluation committee's results, a priority negotiation order for each candidate has already been determined.

A Korea Football Association official explained: "The candidate priority order, such as first choice and second choice, has been set. If negotiations with the first-choice candidate do not proceed well, we will move to the second-choice candidate."

If an agreement is reached with the first-choice candidate, the interim head coach selection process is expected to immediately enter its finalization stage. Conversely, if negotiations break down, the process will proceed by entering negotiations with the already-determined next-priority candidate.

However, the exact number of final candidates has not been disclosed. Specific names of the final candidates and their priority order are being kept confidential as they could influence the negotiation process.

Previously mentioned candidates for the interim head coach position have included former Spain national team coach Roberto Moreno, Domenec Torrent who long served as an assistant to Pep Guardiola, and Jesus Casas who led the Iraq national team.

The South Korea national team head coach position is currently vacant. Former coach Hong Myung-bo, who led the national team since 2024, stepped down taking responsibility for the poor performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America and Central America. South Korea was eliminated from the World Cup group stage with one win and two losses.

The Football Association plans to operate the national team under an interim head coach system during the A-match period in September-October before formally selecting a permanent head coach. South Korea will face Ecuador on September 24, followed by Uruguay on the 28th. They will then play friendly matches against Venezuela on October 2 and Uzbekistan on the 6th.

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*This content was translated by AI.