South Korea to Face Venezuela, Uzbekistan in October A-Matches

The South Korean men's national football team, currently searching for a new head coach, has finalized Venezuela and Uzbekistan as its opponents for the October A-matches.

The Korea Football Association announced today (July 28) that the national team will play friendly matches against Venezuela on October 2 and Uzbekistan on October 6.

The venues and kickoff times for both matches will be confirmed at a later date.

These four consecutive matches were made possible following a change in FIFA's A-match window regulations.

Following the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, FIFA reduced the number of annual A-match windows from five to four.

The move aims to protect players by reducing long-distance travel and to enhance tactical coherence by securing adequate training periods.

Consequently, the September and October A-match schedules have been integrated and expanded to 16 days, allowing the national team to play a total of four matches during a single call-up period.

Venezuela, South Korea's first opponent in October, is ranked 47th in the FIFA rankings and failed to qualify for the main tournament after finishing eighth in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.

South Korea has faced Venezuela only once before, in September 2014 in Bucheon, winning 3-1 thanks to a multi-goal performance by Lee Dong-gook.

Uzbekistan, the subsequent opponent, is ranked 60th in the FIFA rankings.

Though they stepped onto the World Cup stage for the first time in history through the North and Central America tournament, they failed to advance to the round of 32 in the group stage.

South Korea holds a commanding head-to-head record against Uzbekistan with 11 wins, 4 draws, and 1 loss.

In their most recent encounter—an away friendly in Brisbane, Australia, in November 2018—South Korea secured a 4-0 victory.

The opponents for the two friendly matches to be played in September, ahead of the October doubleheader, have not yet been determined.

With the national team's head coach position currently vacant, the upcoming four matches across September and October will be played under an interim coaching system.

The Korea Football Association plans to make a separate announcement and proceed with the official procedures regarding the appointment of a permanent head coach once details are finalized.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.