Uli Stielike has been fired as South Korea’s men’s football team head coach following their World Cup qualifying defeat to Qatar. The announcement was made by South Korea’s football association and it came two days after a 3-2 loss in Qatar in the Asian qualifying tournament for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, reports Xinhua news agency.
It was also South Korea’s third defeat in the last five qualification games and it minimised their hopes for making to a ninth successive World Cup.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) said it decided to part ways with Stielike following a technical committee meeting at the National Football Center in Paju, Seoul.
South Korea remains in second place in Group A with 13 points from four wins, a draw and three losses. Stielike’s side, however, is just one point above No. 3 Uzbekistan with two matches remaining.
In Asian qualifying, the top two teams from each of the two groups will advance automatically to the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia. Two third-place teams will enter a playoff over two legs for a spot.
Stielike, 62, took over the team in September 2014. He was contracted through the 2018 World Cup, should South Korea qualify for the tournament.
(With IANS inputs)
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