South Korea hire former Spain boss Moreno as interim coach

South Korea’s underfire football association on Tuesday (August 1, 2026) appointed former Spain boss Robert Moreno as interim coach, following a disastrous World Cup and series of damaging controversies.

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Moreno, who was forced to deny earlier this year that he used ChatGPT to prepare for games during a stint in Russia, will be in charge for friendly games in September-October.

South Korea will compete in the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia from January 7 to February 5.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said Moreno could lead the team at the Asian Cup, “subject to an evaluation” of his performance.

The team have been without a coach since Hong Myung-bo quit following their shock group-stage exit from the World Cup in North America in June.

Hong’s departure did little to quell public outrage over the disappointing campaign and added fuel to pre-existing questions about how he was hired.

Police raided KFA headquarters last month as part of an investigation into Hong’s 2024 appointment.

The KFA also apologised for allegations that it provided sexual entertainment for foreign referees.

Moreno will lead South Korea for home friendlies against Ecuador and Uruguay in September and Venezuela and Uzbekistan in October.

He would also be in charge if South Korea organise more friendlies during the November international window.

The KFA said the 48-year-old had been hired after “an open recruitment process”.

He will become the first Spaniard to coach South Korea.

Moreno took over the Spanish national team on a temporary basis in 2019 from Luis Enrique.

He was appointed full-time in June that year after Luis Enrique resigned because his daughter Xana was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer.

Spain rehired Luis Enrique to replace Moreno in November 2019 after his daughter’s death. The coach accused Moreno of being “disloyal” for trying to stay in charge for Euro 2020.

Moreno, who has also coached Monaco and Granada, was accused by Russian media in January of using AI to prepare for games during his time in charge of Sochi.

Moreno, who left the top-flight side in September 2025 after a poor run of results, denied the reports.

“I have never used ChatGPT or any AI to prepare matches, decide line-ups or choose players. That is completely false,” he wrote in an open letter sent to Spanish newspaper Marca.

Moreno said he used technology in his job but made his decisions himself and with his staff.

“My career in football began precisely through data and video analysis. It’s what I specialise in and what made the difference in my early days,” he said.