South Korea coach Humberto Coelho could be sacked because his below-strength team lost two successive Asian Cup qualifying matches against lowly opposition, a leading soccer official said on Thursday.

Oman tucked away three goals against South Korea in Muscat on Tuesday, two days after Vietnam stunned the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists 1-0. Several key overseas-based players were missing from the South Korean squad.

"I will seriously consider going to the KFA's technical committee to discuss whether to sack coach Coelho," Yonhap news agency quoted Cho Chung-yun, general secretary of the Korean Football Association (KFA), as saying.

"The players did their best," he added. "When you lose in a war, the general should be held accountable for the defeat."

Cho said the KFA's technical committee would meet once the delegation returned from Oman after Friday's qualifier against Nepal. South Korea beat Nepal 16-0 in the first leg last month.

South Korea are second in group E on nine points behind Oman on 12 points. Vietnam are also on nine points. The top two sides advance to the 2004 Asian Cup in China.

"We should discuss whether we can go forward to Asian Cup finals and World Cup preliminary under the current system," said Cho.

A KFA spokesman said Cho's remarks were his own personal opinion.

Coelho's performances have been closely scrutinised in the media since the former Portugal coach took over in January.

"There are few things that could be more damaging to the future of Korean football than the atmosphere of complacency and self-satisfaction that has reigned since last June," wrote Seoul-based soccer expert Eoghan Sweeney in the Korea Times.

He was referring to South Korea's last-four finish at the World Cup.

"Losses in successive outings against Vietnam and Oman will hopefully have provided a healthy kick in the pants," he said. "Nobody can now be in any doubt there are serious problems." (Additional reporting by Kim Kyoung-wha and Lee Joon-woo)

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