Morenoho Korea's national soccer team aims for a turnaround in the match against Uzbekistan

Morenoho's Korean national soccer team, which is shaking after only three games since its inception, is aiming for a turnaround in the match against Uzbekistan, which is 27 places lower in the FIFA rankings.

The Korean national team, led by coach Robert Moreno (Spain), will play the last game of the four-game A-match series from September to October against Uzbekistan at Mir Stadium in Yongin at 8 p.m. on the 6th.

Uzbekistan is a leader in Central Asia participating in the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.

However, the gap with Korea, which has claimed to be the strongest team in Asia, is large.

In the FIFA real-time rankings, Uzbekistan is 59th and Korea is 32nd.

Korea is significantly ahead of Uzbekistan in its previous record with 11 wins, 4 draws, and 1 loss.

The only loss came in the men's soccer semifinals (0-1) at the Hiroshima Asian Games held on October 13, 1994, three years after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. This was the first confrontation between the two countries.

Since then, Korea has never lost to Uzbekistan for 32 years.

In the most recent friendly match held in Australia in 2018, Nam Tae-hee, Hwang Ui-jo, Moon Seon-min, and Seok Hyun-jun scored goals to win 4-0.

If we are unable to comfortably score a victory against Uzbekistan, the fallout will inevitably be severe.

As the atmosphere within the national team is at its worst, the need for victory against Uzbekistan is even greater.

Morenoho won 3-0 against Ecuador in its first game, but lost 1-4 in the following game against Uruguay, the “powerhouse of South America.”

Then, they failed to show any strength against Venezuela and ended up drawing 0-0.

The performance is getting worse, and the motivation on the players' faces seems to be disappearing.

Immediately after the Venezuela game, the team’s atmosphere was turbulent.

Kim Min-jae (Munich) sat down on the bench after being substituted in the second half and took off his soccer shoes. After the game, he said, "Rather than individuals shining, the team must work as one to bring about results. In order to raise the team's level, all players must 'put their heads down' and play hard."

Core midfielder Hwang In-beom (Porto) even cried, saying, "It's been about 9 years since I've been with the national team. From then until now, there are a lot of things that need to change in various areas, including soccer, but it doesn't seem to be working out."

There is also analysis that the team's internal leadership has virtually collapsed. Fans suspect that Kim Min-jae and Hwang In-beom made the remarks targeting a specific player. In any case, attention has no choice but to turn to the head coach, Coach Moreno, and ‘Captain’ Son Heung-min (LAFC).

Coach Moreno, 49, has yet to leave any notable achievements as a leader. Being the Korean head coach is an important opportunity in your career.

If he regains momentum and wins against Uzbekistan and continues that trend in the two games in November, there is a much greater possibility that he will be promoted to official manager and lead the 2027 Asian Cup.

Following his free kick goal against Ecuador, Son Heung-min tied the record of 58 goals in a Korean international match with former national team coach Cha Bum-geun with a 'Jangpung goal' against Uruguay. If we score one more goal, we will reach an unprecedented height.

However, victory is not expected to be easy. Uzbekistan, led by coach Fabio Cannavaro, recently won 3-1 against Iran and 4-1 against Syria at home.