South Korea appoint Shin as new coach

Shin Tae-yong has been appointed the new head coach of South Korea on a contract until after the 2018 World Cup.

Shin oversaw the Under-23 side at Rio 2016 and was in charge for the Under-20 World Cup on home soil in May and June.

He has now been promoted to the senior position after Uli Stielike had his contract cancelled last month following a 3-2 loss to Qatar.

Kim Ho-gon, chairman of the Korean Football Association’s technical committee, said: “Although the team is in a difficult situation, I believe that Shin Tae-yong will be able to demonstrate his abilities.”

South Korea are in the third round of AFC qualifying for the 2018 World Cup and sit second in Group A, one point clear of Uzbekistan in the play-off position.

There will be no easy settling-in period for Shin, whose first match comes against group leaders Iran, who have already qualified, before a potentially crunch clash away at Uzbekistan.