The Klinsmanns are winless in their fourth month. The next A match is against Wales.
Jürgen Klinsmann took over the reins of the South Korean national soccer team in late February and stepped foot on South Korean soil on March 8. As befits a player of his stature, Klinsmann was greeted by a huge crowd at Incheon International Airport. His inaugural press conference was held the next day at the Paju National Training Center (NFC).
At the event, Klinsmann declared that his goal was to “win the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar and reach the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America,” adding that he would “prefer a 4-3 victory to a 1-0 victory,” creating a lot of anticipation.
The first impression was ‘epic’. He acknowledged and clarified all the issues that had been controversial before his appointment, including his career break, his resignation on social media while at Hertha Berlin, his coaching staff living in Europe, and his criticism of Klinsmann’s tactics in Philip Lahm’s autobiography. Public opinion quickly changed.
More important than the interview were the matches and results. Klinsmann’s team faced Colombia (2-2 draw) and Uruguay (1-2 loss) in the two trials in March, and Peru (0-1 loss) and El Salvador (1-1 draw) during the A-match in June. Their record in four matches is two draws and two losses.
Klinsmann is the only foreign coach without a win in his first four games. Paulo Bento, who led the national team until last year, beat Costa Rica 2-0 in his South Korean debut. Uli Stielike also beat Paraguay 2-0 on his debut.
Pim Bearback defeated Chinese Taipei 3-0 on his debut, and Dick Advocaat beat Iran 2-0 on his debut. Joe Bonfreire also defeated Bahrain 2-0 in his debut. All five foreign managers before Klinsmann recorded their first win in their first game.
Umberto Coelho beat Japan 1-0 in his third game, while Gus Hiddink beat the United Arab Emirates 4-1 in his fourth. The first foreign coach, Anatoly Bishovets, earned a 1-0 win over Ukraine in his debut.
“I didn’t know about that record, I’ll try to win as soon as possible,” Klinsmann said at the press conference on Feb. 22, when asked about being the only foreign coach without a win in four games. “I’ve learned a lot in the last three months. 메이저놀이터 We will do well in the September A match.”
Their next opponent is European dark horse Wales. On September 8, South Korea will play a friendly against the Welsh national team at Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. It will be South Korea’s first trip to Europe in five and a half years since the Northern Ireland-Poland match in March 2018.
Wales is ranked 26th in the FIFA rankings, while South Korea is 27th. Klinsmann will be under pressure to pick up his first win against an evenly matched Welsh side and on the road. Wales faced Armenia (2-4 L) and Turkmenistan (0-2 L) during their June A matches, both of which they lost.