Korea soccer begins post-World Cup rebuild under interim coach Roberto Moreno

Interim coach Robert Moreno will lead Korea through four home friendlies as national teams launch their road to 2030.

The national-team game is roaring back to life next week with the first international break after the FIFA World Cup 2026, with national teams returning to action and a host of new managers set to make their debuts.

The FIFA international break begins Monday, with a new 16-day consolidated window being used for the first time. Previously held as separate nine-day international breaks in September and October, the periods have been combined into a single 16-day window this year to reduce long-distance travel. National teams can play up to four matches during the window.

But the longer window will be about more than a scheduling change.

A wave of managers who took up their posts following the World Cup will make their debuts. National teams have also begun reshaping their squads with an eye toward the 2030 World Cup, to be jointly hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, and intervening continental tournaments.

Korea is among the teams starting over, replacing manager Hong Myung-bo following a disappointing group stage exit at the 2026 World Cup.

Interim manager Robert Moreno will have four home friendlies to begin his tenure. The national team is set to face Ecuador in Suwon on Sept. 24, Uruguay in Seoul on Sept. 28, Venezuela in Ulsan on Oct. 2 and Uzbekistan in Yongin on Oct. 6.

The three South American sides will also face Japan during the same international window through friendlies and the four-team Kirin Cup. The matches will offer a chance to indirectly compare Korea and Japan ahead of the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia in January. Korea enters the period under a new manager after the World Cup, while Japan retained Hajime Moriyasu.

Europe, meanwhile, will provide some of the biggest fixtures of the international window as the first four rounds of the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League get underway.

League A will feature a string of heavyweight matchups, including the traditional rivalry between the Netherlands and Germany on Sept. 24, Italy against Belgium on Sept. 25 and England against Spain on Sept. 26.

International competition will also resume across North and Central America, the Caribbean and Africa.

The Concacaf Nations League group stage, which doubles as qualification for the 2027 Gold Cup, will begin on Monday. Particular attention is on Curaçao, which made its World Cup debut at the 2026 tournament.

The United States and Mexico, both already qualified directly for the Gold Cup, will meet in a friendly on Oct. 4.

Qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will take place during the same window, running from Sept. 24 to Oct. 6.

Some of the biggest attention, however, will also be on the sidelines.

Zinedine Zidane will make his debut as France manager after turning down a succession of offers in the five years since leaving Real Madrid. Germany will also begin a new era under Jürgen Klopp, while Roberto Mancini takes charge of an Italy side that failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The international break will also offer an early look at how some of the world’s leading national teams plan to move forward without longtime stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as a new generation begins taking center stage on the road to 2030.

BY CHANG HYE-SOO [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]