Korea 1-1 Thailand
A surprise happened at the Seoul World Cup Stadium during the match between hosts Korea and Thailand. The Southeast Asian representative was the team that entered the game better in the first 10 minutes of the match. Opportunities continuously opened up with "War Elephants" but Supachai, Peeradol or Supachok all unfortunately missed it.
After a series of escape situations, Korea gradually regained control of the match. The East Asia representative pushed the ball a lot for captain Son Heung-min. After a few long shots and inaccurate free kicks, the Tottenham star made a difference by opening the score in the 42nd minute.
From an armpit situation on the left wing, Lee Jae-sung returned just enough for Sonny to shoot diagonally, defeating the Thai goalkeeper.
Son Heung-min opened the score after a series of misses.
In the second half, Korea continued to apply pressure and almost doubled the gap in the 53rd minute. Jeong Woo-yeong's long shot made the Thai defense helpless, but the ball found the bar.
At a difficult time, coach Masatada Ishii sent Suphanat Mueanta onto the field in the 58th minute. Just 4 minutes later, the star wearing Leuven's shirt shined with a goal to equalize 1-1 for the "War Elephants".
Thailand played impressively against the continent's top opponents.
From the right wing, Mickelson rose high and made a shot but accidentally became an assist for Suphanat to score from close range, not giving goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo a chance to block. Thailand became the first team to concede a goal to South Korea in the second World Cup qualifying round.
After equalizing, Thailand backed off the entire squad and created a multi-layered defense in front of Khammai's goal. On the opposite side, Lee Kang-in was sent onto the field but could not help the host create a breakthrough. In the 69th minute, PSG's star sparked an attack that allowed Son Heung-min to kick into Thailand's net from close range. However, the goal was stripped for offside.
Minutes 87 and 88, 3 close-range scoring opportunities consecutively came to the home team. However, Kim Young-Gwon and Paik Seung-Ho still could not take advantage to score the second goal.
In the second half, Korea held the ball 80% of the time, shot 11 times but was powerless against the efforts of the Thai defenders and goalkeeper. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. "War Elephants" had a historic draw after 27 years against Korea.
Korea still holds the top spot in Group C with 7 points, second is China with 2 points. Thailand has 6 points, ranked 4rd. On March 3, Thailand will return home to welcome South Korea.
