Korea 1-1 Thailand
The surprise happened at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in the match between host Korea and Thailand. The Southeast Asian representative was the better team in the first 10 minutes of the match. Opportunities continuously opened up for the "War Elephants" but Supachai, Peeradol and Supachok all missed them regrettably.
After a series of escapes, South Korea gradually regained control of the game. The East Asian representative passed the ball quite a lot to captain Son Heung-min. After a few long shots and inaccurate free kicks, the Tottenham star made a difference with the opening goal in the 42nd minute.
From a split situation on the left wing, Lee Jae-sung passed the ball back just in time for Sonny to finish diagonally, defeating the Thai goalkeeper.
Son Heung-min opened the scoring after a series of misses.
In the second half, Korea continued to put pressure and almost doubled the gap in the 53rd minute. Jeong Woo-yeong's long-range shot left the Thai defense helpless but the ball hit the crossbar.
At a difficult time, coach Masatada Ishii sent Suphanat Mueanta onto the field in the 58th minute. Just 4 minutes later, the Leuven star shone with the equalizer 1-1 for the "War Elephants".
Thailand played impressively against the continent's top opponents.
From the right wing, Mickelson advanced and took a shot, but it accidentally became an assist for Suphanat to run in and finish close to the goal, giving goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo no chance to block. Thailand became the first team to score against Korea in the second round of the World Cup qualifiers.
After the equalizer, Thailand withdrew their entire squad and created a multi-layered defense in front of Khammai's goal. On the opposite side, Lee Kang-in was brought in but could not help the home team create a breakthrough. In the 69th minute, the PSG star sparked the attack for Son Heung-min to tap the ball into the Thai net from close range. However, the goal was disallowed for offside.
In the 87th and 88th minutes, the home team had three consecutive close-range opportunities. However, Kim Young-Gwon and Paik Seung-Ho still could not take advantage to score the second goal.
In the second half, Korea controlled the ball 80% of the time, shot 11 times but was helpless against the efforts of the Thai defenders and goalkeeper. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. The "War Elephants" had a historic draw after 27 years against Korea.
South Korea still holds the top spot in Group C with 7 points, followed by China with 6 points. Thailand has 4 points, ranking 3rd. On March 26, Thailand will return home to host South Korea.
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