Helping Lee Kang-in and Adding Son Heung-min... Challenge Thailand for a 'Win Streak of Atonement'

Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in, who publicly reconciled on social media in the two-game World Cup preliminaries, leaving behind 'Table Tennis Gate' and 'Card Gate', expect a 'joint goal' in front of a packed crowd, a fierce counterattack led by Thailand's 'Supa Trio' attackers

The Korean national soccer team is attempting a ‘series of atonement’ against Thailand, the strongest team in Southeast Asia.

The national soccer team, led by interim coach Hwang Seon-hong, will play the third match of Group C of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup Asia 2nd qualifying round against Thailand at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 21st.

Then, they will leave for Thailand on the 22nd and play the 4th game at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok at 9:30 pm on the 26th, Korean time. 온라인카지노

Korea, which previously won consecutively over Singapore and China, is in the lead (6 points), 3 points ahead of Thailand in second place.

With the second place in the group advancing to the third preliminary round, Korea will be able to prepare for the 5th and 6th games with less pressure as a 2-game win over Thailand will virtually confirm its advancement to the next stage.

However, just winning is not enough.

We must achieve an ‘overwhelming victory’ with multiple scores.

The national team, which was eliminated in the semifinals after a poor performance in the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup, which ended last month, was involved in 'Table Tennis Gate', in which Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) made a long distance attack on captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham), and some players bet money on cards with employees of the Korea Football Association.

Its image has fallen to the ground due to repeated incidents and scandals, such as 'Cardgate'.

Former coach Jurgen Klinsmann was hit with a final blow due to the table tennis scandal and was dismissed as the national team's head coach, and coach Hwang, whose main job is the head coach of the U-23 national team, will temporarily take charge of the national team A only for the match against Thailand.

In this situation, winning the match against Thailand is a prerequisite for ‘atonement.’

If Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min, who publicly reconciled through social media, score a 'joint goal' in front of a packed crowd at Sangambeol, the frozen hearts of fans may be warmed more quickly.

On the contrary, public opinion is expected to deteriorate further if they do not achieve a refreshing victory against Thailand (101st), which is 79 places lower in the FIFA rankings.

Korea is far ahead of Thailand in its previous record with 30 wins, 7 draws, and 8 losses.

There has been almost no confrontation since the 2000s.

The only friendly match was held in Bangkok, Thailand in 2016, and Korea won 1-0 at that time.

Although the objective power difference is large, Thailand is on the rise, so it can be difficult to look at it easily.

Thailand, which has been considered the strongest team in Southeast Asia, is said to have become stronger since Japanese coach Masatada Ishii took over last year.

At the Qatar Asian Cup, they performed well, reaching the round of 16, and thanks to this, they raised their FIFA ranking by 12 places.

The counterattacks centered around the ‘Supa Trio’, including Japanese J-League striker Supachok Sarachat (Consadole Sapporo), striker Supachai Chaided, and Supanat Muayanta of Leuven, Belgium, are sharp.

The set-piece attack led by Elias Dola (Bali United), a tall mixed-race center back from Sweden, is also fierce.

It should be noted that, unlike in the past, Korea does not have a clear advantage in 'height'.

Dola is 196 cm tall, and his partner Judge Hembibun (Buriram) is 191 cm tall.

He is taller than the Korean central defenders Kim Min-jae (190 cm, Munich) and Kim Young-kwon (185 cm, Ulsan).

Soccer commentator Han Jun-hee said, "Thailand is not a team that just sits deep and tries to hold on like past Southeast Asian teams.

They have to be prepared for a counterattack after cutting off the opponent's attack in the midfield."

Committee member Han also said, "In the last Asian Cup, Southeast Asia's progress was notable, with Vietnam struggling against Japan, Malaysia struggling with Korea, and Indonesia advancing to the round of 16.

Thailand showed the best overall performance among them," adding, "We “If you look at it too easily, you could get seriously hurt,” he said.

‘Hwang Seon-Hong-Ho’ is preparing for the match against Thailand with the gates firmly locked to avoid the harsh gaze of the outside world.

We decided not to disclose the training to reporters even once.

Aside from the official press conference the day before the game, it appears that players will not stand in front of reporters and answer questions.

Coach Hwang said, "When I talked to the players, they felt a lot of pressure (from the outside gaze) and were having a hard time mentally," and added, "Our players will do their best to repay the favor with one mind."