New chapter.Same fire.

The next target is close enough to shape every decision. The Asian Cup begins in Saudi Arabia in January, while Korea's autumn starts with four friendlies at home. There is time to try combinations, but less room for a long period of uncertainty about what the team is trying to do.

Robert Moreno has been appointed interim head coach. The AFC reports that the KFA announcement came on September 1 and that leading the team at the Asian Cup remains subject to evaluation. That makes this an opening audition as well as preparation for a tournament.

The footballing challenge is clearer than the long-term coaching picture: Korea need to turn possession and individual ability into more reliable scoring opportunities. The World Cup started with a comeback win, then ended with two defeats without a goal. The next response has to happen on the pitch.

The Czechia match supplies a useful attacking example. FIFA's report credits Hwang In-beom with the equaliser and the delivery for Oh Hyeon-gyu's winner. The move depended on more than one player solving the problem: a midfielder advanced the attack and a forward provided the finish.

Neither of the following games produced a Korean goal. That does not, by itself, tell us whether the problem was chance creation, finishing or the quality of the opposition. It does tell us where to look when the team returns: how often do attacks reach a player who can shoot without first having to beat another defender?

The KFA's tournament review confirms the group-stage exit. Three points and a minus-one goal difference left Korea outside the round of 32. The next competition offers a different challenge, but the need for a more dependable attacking sequence carries over.

Ecuador begins the block, followed by Uruguay and Venezuela before Uzbekistan supplies an Asian opponent. Four games offer room to share minutes and compare combinations. The useful question is whether a change of personnel preserves the same passing options and defensive support.

The KFA profile lists Son's birth date as July 8, 1992: he is 34 at this update. The question for the next cycle is how to use his movement and decision-making well. This page does not assume that every match requires the same position or the same number of minutes.

A run behind the defence has value even when the pass never comes. It may hold a centre-back deeper, opening room for Lee Kang-in to receive. A short movement can have the opposite effect, bringing an opponent forward and giving a central striker space to attack. The important part is coordination.

That is why Son should not be the answer to every possession. If every move waits for him to receive, the defence can wait too. A successful combination can end with another player taking the shot because Son's movement helped create the opening.

There is also a practical workload question in a four-match block. The staff can compare starting roles, substitute roles and the options around him. Those choices become meaningful when the supporting players understand the same cues.

South Korea won the first two Asian Cups, in 1956 and 1960. The AFC's account of the 1960 tournament supplies the historical starting point for a wait that now spans generations. The players preparing for 2027 carry expectations shaped by that history, even though they cannot change the tournaments that came before them.

The next edition runs from January 7 to February 5 in Saudi Arabia. Korea are in Group E with the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Yemen, whose qualification completed the group. The AFC's June update confirms the final line-up.

That gives the autumn a clear purpose. Friendlies can test how Korea build an attack, how they respond when a first plan stalls and how they distribute responsibility around Son. The results matter, but the patterns that survive a substitution or a difficult spell may tell us more about tournament readiness.

Fixtures and player profiles come from KFA. World Cup scores are checked with KFA and FIFA; coaching and Asian Cup information come from AFC reports. Tactical diagrams and player-role discussions are editorial interpretation.

This page follows the senior men's national team. KFA also publishes women's and age-group schedules, including the Asian Games, which are separate from the four friendlies listed above. Illustrations show imagined editorial scenes. Results and news require an editorial update; only the countdown changes automatically.