Hong Myung-bo, who has been in constant noise, will complete the formation of the coaching staff and begin preparing to advance to the FIFA World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced on the 21st that it has appointed head coach João Arroso and coach Ago Maia from Portugal as foreign coaching staff to assist Hong Myung-bo (55).
According to a KFA official, Aroso will be the head coach and tactical coach to draw up a tactical sketch of Hong Myung-bo. In addition, Aroso plans to inspect European players including Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) based in Europe.
Coach Maia will reside in Korea and look at K-League players and discuss tactics with coach Hong Myung-bo.
The team has completed its coaching staff. Earlier, Park Geon-ha, Kim Dong-jin and Kim Jin-gyu, goalkeeper coach Yang Young-min, and physical coach Lee Jae-hong and Chung Hyeon-gyu joined the A-team. 안전놀이터
Hong Myung-bo’s coaching staff, which consists of nine members, will be available at a press conference to announce the call-up list for the September A-match. Foreign coaches will arrive in Korea within this week, watch the K-League on weekends, and appear at a press conference to announce their names. Other coaching staff have been checking the conditions of their players while visiting K-League sites since last Wednesday.
When head coach Hong Myung-bo announces his first list, there is a lot of attention on who he will select as his new face along with his main players Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in.
“I have players in my head who can dedicate themselves to the team through my K-League career for three and a half years, and players who can change the game,” Hong said at the inaugural press conference last month. “The national team is always open. Any player with good performance will be able to join the team.”
The first player to join the national team will be convened in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on Sept. 2 and participate in the first training session. Afterwards, the team will hold the first Group B match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup against Palestine at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Seoul World Cup Stadium. Afterwards, the team will move to Muscat, Oman, where they will play the second match against Oman at 11 p.m. on Saturday (Korea time).
South Korea was in Group B with Palestine, Oman, Iraq, Jordan, and Kuwait in the third qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup. After the six teams play full-league home-and-away games, the top two teams in the group will automatically qualify for the finals.
