South Korea are lining up opponents before they've even found a manager. The Korea Football Association has confirmed Venezuela on October 2 and Uzbekistan on October 6 as the national team's October friendly fixtures — both to be played at home, with venues and kickoff times still to follow.
The scheduling is the easy part. The real problem is that there's nobody in charge.
What Hong Myung-bo's exit actually cost
Hong resigned after South Korea crashed out of the 2026 World Cup in North America at the group stage — one win, two losses, and a humiliating exit that didn't even warrant a round-of-32 appearance. He took responsibility. Then he left. The KFA is now hunting for a full coaching setup, appointing a head coach and assistants together rather than sourcing them separately, which is at least a more coherent approach than the usual piecemeal scramble.
In the meantime, an interim staff will take charge of six scheduled matches through November. That's six matches — including these two October friendlies — where South Korea will essentially be operating without a permanent identity or system. The September opponents haven't even been announced yet.
The FIFA rankings tell their own story. South Korea dropped seven places to 32nd after the World Cup. Venezuela sit at 47th, Uzbekistan at 60th — neither is going to expose fundamental flaws the way a top-30 side would, but they're also not pushovers. Against teams at that level, a disorganised South Korea side in transition should be expected to win. Any slip there would deepen the crisis considerably, and it's worth watching how those results land with the fanbase while the coaching search drags on.
The new FIFA window changes the context
FIFA merged the September and October international windows this year into a single 16-day block, meaning South Korea will play four matches across the combined period. The intention was to reduce long-haul travel fatigue for players. In practice, for a nation currently without a head coach, it just means more matches under interim management — more exposure, more risk, less coherent preparation.
South Korea have qualified for every World Cup since 1986. Falling at the group stage in 2026 was a jolt. The KFA has six friendlies to find some answers. They just need to find a coach first.
