The Korean national soccer team has confirmed the schedule and venues for four friendly matches in September and October under a new interim coaching system.
The Korea Football Association announced on August 18 that the four matches, part of the Hana Bank Invitational, will take place in Suwon, Seoul, Ulsan, and Yongin.
This series of matches will adhere to the newly revised international match schedule regulations set by FIFA, which has reduced the number of annual A-match periods from five to four. Instead, FIFA has consolidated the September and October schedules into a single 16-day period, allowing for a maximum of four matches to be played at once.
Korea will kick off the series against Ecuador (ranked 25th by FIFA) on September 24 at 8 p.m. at Suwon World Cup Stadium, just before the Chuseok holiday. The team will then face Uruguay (20th) on September 28 at 8 p.m. at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
The October matches will continue in Ulsan and Yongin. On October 2 at 8 p.m., Korea will play against Venezuela (47th) at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium, followed by a match against Uzbekistan (60th) on October 6 at 8 p.m. at Yongin Mir Stadium.
These four matches will mark the first schedule for the national team following the 2026 North American World Cup. Additionally, it will be the first A-match held domestically since the game against Ghana in November of last year.
Looking at the host cities, Suwon will host a national team match for the first time in about a year and a half since the World Cup qualifying match against Jordan in March of last year. Yongin and Ulsan will also host A-matches for the first time in about a year and three years and six months, respectively, since the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship and the match against Colombia in March 2023.
Meanwhile, the selection of an interim coach to lead the team during the September to November A-matches is progressing. The football association reported on August 17 that it has completed the document eligibility review and result verification for the open recruitment of the interim coach and coaching staff, notifying applicants of their acceptance or rejection.
The evaluation committee, composed of some members of the Strengthening Committee and external members, closed the document submission on September 9 and will begin online interviews with those who passed the document screening this week. Once the interview schedule concludes, the committee plans to establish a priority negotiation ranking based on the evaluation results and proceed with negotiations sequentially, aiming to finalize the selection by the end of this month.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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