German World Cup hero and former USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann was named as the new head coach of the South Korea men’s national football team, the Korea Football Association (KFA) announced. The 58-year-old is tasked to keep South Korea’s Asian glory and bring them through the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Get the latest football handicap and odds here!
“I am very happy and honored to be the head coach of South Korea’s national football team,” Klinsmann said in a statement. “I know well that the Korean national team has been, over a long period of time, constantly improving and producing results.” Klinsmann replaces Portuguese coach Paulo Bento, who guided South Korea in the most recent World Cup. Don’t miss the latest football odds here!
Klinsmann won the World Cup as a player in 1990 and led Germany to the semi-finals as coach in 2006. He also coached the USMNT and was sacked in 2016 after a slow start to the final round of regional qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. His most recent coaching job was in 2020 where he guided Hertha Berlin and left after 10 weeks in the German Bundesliga.
Last year, South Korea stunned already-qualified Portugal 2-1 to advance in the knockout phase of the 2022 World Cup, with talisman Son Heung-min setting up a winning goal for substitute Hwang Hee-chan in the dying moments of the final group stage match. With the win, South Korea became the second Asian team to make it to this year’s World Cup knockouts, alongside Japan.
After guiding South Korea up until the last-16 of the 2022 World Cup, Paulo Bento stepped down as their head coach following the 4-1 defeat against Brazil that knocked them out of the tournament. The former Portugal boss left the side after four years at the helm. “Now I need to think about the future, but I will not be with the Korea team,” the 53-year-old said.
South Korea will play its first match under Klinsmann on March 24 in a friendly against Colombia. He is also tasked to lead South Korea at the next Asian Cup, scheduled to be held in Qatar in January. South Korea last won the continental title in 1960. Klinsmann is the eighth foreign coach in South Korea’s history and the second German since Uli Stielike in 2014-17.
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