On the afternoon of the 24th, the Korea Football Association held the second meeting of the national team's power reinforcement committee at the soccer hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul. From the second meeting, all the processes will be held behind closed doors, and when the final results are released, separate media meetings will be held to announce the results including the contents of each meeting. 토토사이트
Through this power reinforcement committee, the direction of the existing plan to appoint a formal coach before March has changed to play the March A match as a temporary coach system and go through a more substantial process of appointing a formal coach. It is interpreted that a compromise was proposed after Jeong Hae-sung, chairman of the power reinforcement committee, said in a briefing after the first power reinforcement committee, "We focused on the appointment of a formal coach rather than a temporary system."
The move also gave the K-League a breather five days before the opening of the season. After Chairman Chung said that he would appoint an official coach, more emphasis was placed on the appointment of a domestic coach rather than a foreign one, and most of them were active managers in the K-League. Ulsan HD supporters where Hong is located issued an official statement protesting against the move, saying, "We strongly protested against the move," with trucks and wreaths in front of the soccer center. In addition, K-League fans expressed anger on Internet communities as well.
The Korea Professional Football Association has been busy to raise the mood for the opening of the K-League by attaching a message asking the Korean national team to avoid questions ahead of the "Media Day for the Opening of the K-League 2024" to be held on Sunday. "The atmosphere was good last year and there were good factors this year, but there is nothing we can do for now. It is not a good atmosphere ahead of the opening of the season, but there is nothing we can do about it," said an official from the 2nd Korea Federation of Professional Football Associations.
The announcement will eliminate the possibility of an incumbent K-League coach being called to head the national team at least until March. Of course, there is still possibility to appoint a domestic coach, but if he can buy time until June's A-match, he will have a way to examine various leaders from various angles and perspectives, as he can address issues such as prolonged appointment process or checking the performance of national team players after appointment. Even if an incumbent K-League coach is selected as a temporary coach, he will be able to concurrently hold two A-match titles in March.
The Korean team will have the third and fourth matches of the second qualifying round for the 2026 North-Central American World Cup in March against Thailand. The team will have a showdown with Thailand at home on March 21, and will have another showdown on June 26. Thailand is one of the strongest teams in Southeast Asia and cannot be ignored as it advanced to the round of 16 at the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup. Nevertheless, as it revealed its limitations due to realistic differences in capacity with Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan at the championship, Korea can expect to win as an interim coach.
Meanwhile, the K-League will begin its full-fledged journey starting on March 1st. K-League 1 will open with Ulsan HD and Pohang Steelers, while K-League 2 will open with FC Anyang, Seongnam FC, and Ansan Greeners and Gyeongnam FC.