My number one priority is the Korean A team!

French women’s national soccer team coach Erve Renard, who led Lionel Messi of Argentina, has officially expressed interest in Korea. “I want to play with the Korean A team for the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America,” Renard said recently through Sports Chosun. “Many teams are thankfully showing interest, and my top priority is the Korean national team.” Renard is reportedly included in the final 11 candidates announced by Chung Hae-sung, chairman of the national team’s power enhancement committee. Chung will contact foreign candidates first through non-face-to-face contact.

Renard, who retired from football at the early age of 30, immediately transformed into a leader and became a successful coach. He led the Zambian national team to the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012, drawing attention. Renard, who also won another Africa Cup with Ivory Coast in 2015, joined the Moroccan national team in 2016 and gave Morocco a ticket to the first World Cup in 20 years. Morocco was in the “Group of Death” along with Spain, Portugal and Iran at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and although they were eliminated from the group stage, they were praised for their impressive performance.

Renard, who took the helm of Saudi Arabia’s national team in 2019, defeated Japan and led the team to advance to the World Cup finals in Qatar as the No. 1 player in Group B. Renard, who played at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, created an unexpected event by beating Argentina, the candidate, 2-1 in the first group match. It was the only defeat of Argentina, which ultimately won the title through Messi’s one-man show. Unfortunately, the team failed to advance to the round of 16, but Saudi Arabia was well received for its amazing performance.

Since then, Renard has stepped down as coach of the French national women’s team due to discord with the Saudi Arabian Football Association. She advanced her team to the semifinals at the 2023 Australia-New Zealand Women’s World Cup. Notably, she became the first coach to win both men’s and women’s World Cups by winning Brazil in the group league. “I have conveyed to the French national team my desire to leave after the Olympics,” Renard told a recent press conference. 파워볼게임

The reason was because of the World Cup in North and Central America. “I have the 2026 World Cup in my mind. I want to play in my third World Cup as a coach for the men’s national team. This is my personal motivation,” the coach said. Not only the Algerian, Nigerian, Cameroon, Morocco, Poland but also French clubs wanted and want the coach. Among them, the Korean national team is the one that the coach wants the most. “I’ve been talking with several teams lately. I’ll make a decision soon,” the coach said. “I haven’t had any contact with the Korea Football Association yet.”

Renard already has ties with Korean soccer. After the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, the first priority for Korean soccer to find a new captain was Renard. Kim Pan-gon, then chairman of the national team’s power enhancement committee, contacted Renard himself, and Renard also wanted to go to Korea. However, the Moroccan government directly tried to catch Renard, failing to come true. In the end, Kim left behind his regret and appointed Paulo Bento after contacting several candidates. “I was disappointed that I could not make a connection with Korea at the time. I was deeply impressed by Kim’s passion. Although he was not able to join us, he continued to watch Korean soccer and confirmed its potential,” he said.

He has rich experience. Notably, he has been optimized for the national team and made great achievements in various international competitions. Each team at the helm is good at producing results with flexible tactics tailored to the situation. He can utilize four-back strategies in various ways, including 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, and 4-4-2, and play defensive soccer using counterattacks as well as active soccer. On top of that, he has charisma that captivates players, as shown in his locker room talk where he raged after the first half of the match against Argentina at the Qatar World Cup. He is fluent in English.

The salary is not high above all. The coach says that he only needs a goalkeeper coach and a physical coach, not a large-scale division. The biggest variable is that he can join the team after the Paris Olympics. The association announced its plan to appoint a coach by May, as the second round of Asian qualifiers for the North-China-US World Cup will take place in June. “We can have conversations with the French Football Association,” the coach said. “If I take charge of the Korean national team, I will stay in Seoul. I will do anything for the development of Korean soccer,” the coach said. “Korea made it to the round of 16 at the last World Cup in Qatar. With world-class players such as Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, and Lee Kang-in, Korea can make it to the eighth and fourth strongest teams at the North-China-US World Cup. I want to take that opportunity with me.”