The South Korean men's football team previously lost in the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup football match and stopped in the top four, coupled with the team's infighting, which caused captain Son Heung-min to dislocate his finger. Reuters reported that the South Korean Football Association announced on the 16th that it would expel German head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. Chung Mong-kyu, president of the Korean Football Association, said Klinsmann's performance during his tenure did not meet expectations.
Klinsmann, the head coach of the South Korean men's football team, was fired
The Korean Football Association's national team strategic development committee met on the 15th and recommended that Klinsmann be fired. In an interview after the meeting, the Korean Football Association's technical director, Hwang Bo-guan, said that there were "various reasons" to doubt Klinsmann's leadership. According to Yonhap News Agency, the official also said that Chrisman blamed the Asian Cup defeat on discord between the players, rather than tactical issues, and therefore recommended that the Korean Football Association expel Chrisman.
The Korean Football Association quickly expelled Chrisman on the 16th, Zheng Mengkui said, "Coach Klinsmann did not show the leadership of the national team coach we expected, including the control of the game, player management, and work attitude to improve the competitiveness of the national team." ”
Son Heung-min, the king of Asia
On the eve of South Korea's Asian Cup semi-finals against Jordan, a serious conflict broke out between Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in, resulting in Son Heung-min dislocating his finger. Lee Kang-in posted an apology on social media afterwards. The clash also raised questions about Klinsmann's leadership, who was rumored to be there.
Although Klinsmann took over as head coach of the South Korean national team on February 23, 2023, and said that he would stay in South Korea for a while, he was mostly in Los Angeles, USA, so he was criticized. "Yonhap News Agency" pointed out that Klinsmann spends more time overseas than in South Korea, and he often goes to Europe to inspect South Korean players, but this move has been criticized by the outside world as unnecessary, because these good players in Europe have a place in the national team, and Klinsmann does not need to go out to investigate, and believes that Klinsmann should go to South Korea's domestic league to find new talents.
President of the Korean Football Association, Chung Mong-kyu
South Korea will play Thailand in two matches against Thailand in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, on March 21 in Seoul, South Korea, and on March 26 in Bangkok, Thailand. It is rumored that former South Korean star Hong Myung-boo may lead this South Korean team temporarily.