The Korea Football Association (KFA) has appointed Spanish tactician Robert Moreno as temporary head coach of the South Korean men's national football team, tasked not only with winning matches but with rebuilding public trust in a squad battered by one of its most humiliating World Cup exits in recent memory.
Moreno, 48, a former head coach of the Spain national team and later of La Liga club Granada, was confirmed in the role on Tuesday, 1 September, following an open recruitment process the KFA launched during the summer. The association said explicitly that it wants Moreno to "change the mood of the national team" — a pointed acknowledgement of how deeply the squad's performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup damaged its relationship with supporters. South Korea were eliminated in the group stage, their campaign ending with a 1-0 loss to South Africa, prompting the resignation of coach Hong Myung-bo and, subsequently, KFA president Chung Mong-gyu, who had held the role since 2013. Star forward Son Heung-min also issued a public apology, saying he was "indescribably hurt" by the outcome.
Hong had already been a contentious figure before the tournament, with critics accusing the KFA of a secretive and unfair process when he was hired in July 2024. Determined to avoid repeating that controversy, the federation this time accepted open applications from coaches before finalising terms with Moreno and his staff. Rather than rushing to appoint a permanent successor, the KFA opted for a caretaker arrangement to cover the immediate match windows. Moreno is contracted through 27 November, during which South Korea will host Ecuador, Uruguay, Venezuela and Uzbekistan in September and October, followed by two further fixtures in the November FIFA window.
The KFA plans to have a full-time head coach in place before the end of the year, ahead of the AFC Asian Cup, which begins in January in Saudi Arabia. However, should Moreno impress across his six matches, he will be given the opportunity to remain in charge through the tournament. South Korea's group-stage exit was part of a broader disappointment for Asian football at the expanded 48-team World Cup: of nine AFC representatives, only Australia and Japan progressed from the group stage, and both were eliminated in the round of 32. The continent managed just three wins from 29 matches across the tournament.
The scale of the reckoning underlines the challenge facing Moreno. South Korea's benchmark at the men's World Cup remains their run to the semifinals on home soil in 2002, a standard that now feels distant. Restoring domestic confidence in the national programme — and demonstrating that Asian football can be competitive at the highest level — will define his short tenure before a permanent appointment is made.