Interim head coach Kim Do-hoon has led the crisis-ridden South Korean men’s soccer team to the final Asian qualifying spot for the FIFA Confederations Cup North America 2026.
Kim led South Korea to a 7-0 win over Singapore at the Singapore National Stadium at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday in the fifth match of Group C of the second round of Asian qualifying, thanks to a baptism of goals from strikers including Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Min Ji-kyu (Ulsan HD), Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City) and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton).
With four wins and one draw (13 points), South Korea has qualified for the final round of qualifying regardless of the outcome of the rest of their schedule.
With the final qualification, South Korean soccer is one step closer to qualifying for its 11th consecutive World Cup. All eyes will be on the leadership of Kim Do-hoon, who led South Korea to victory.
South Korean soccer is currently without a head coach. The national soccer team parted ways with former coach Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany) following their semifinal exit at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup 2023 in Qatar in February.
Since then, a search for a new head coach has been underway, led by Chung Eui-sung, the chairman of the Korea Football Association (KFA), but a successor was not easily found. In response, the KFA handed the baton to Hwang Sun-hong, head coach of the K League One Daejeon Hana Citizens, for the March A match against Thailand, a two-game series.
But in June, the interim managerial system was repeated. This time, Kim Do-hoon, the former head coach of K League 1 Ulsan HD, took the reins for two games.
It was not an easy task for Kim to lead a team in a chaotic atmosphere due to the repeated interim regime, considering that he had been in charge 카지노 of Ryan City (Singapore) for about a year since 2021 and knew Singaporean soccer well, and Korea is stronger in terms of power.
Nevertheless, Kim said upon his departure from Singapore, “I accepted the position to help Korean soccer in a difficult situation,” adding, “I will focus on getting three points. It’s a short time from accepting the job to the A-Match (to prepare properly), but I’ll make sure the players are able to perform to the best of their abilities.”
That’s exactly what they did on the day, recording a victory over Singapore to secure early qualification. Not only did they score multiple goals, but they also kept a clean sheet.
The team also utilized its resources, including Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, and others, as well as scoring a goal in his A-Match debut and making the A-Match debut of Hwang Jae-won (Daegu FC).
He also brought on Bae Junho, who is considered the future of Korean soccer, as a substitute and scored his debut goal.
With a solid first game in charge of the A team, Kim now looks ahead to the second part of his schedule.
The team will take on China at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Nov. 11 for the sixth match of the second qualifying round.
After returning home on July 7, the team will begin preparations for the match with an open training camp in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on July 8.