On the evening of March 26, Beijing time, a key match in the fourth round of Group C of the second stage of the Asian region of the World Preliminary Championships was played by the Thai men's football team against the South Korean men's football team at home. In the first half, Cho Gyu-sung assisted Lee Jae-seong to break the deadlock, and Son Heung-min missed a single shot, and in the second half, Son Heung-min scored to extend the score, and Park Jin-sub sealed the victory. In the end, South Korea defeated Thailand 3-0, accumulating 10 points in 4 rounds and basically qualifying, which was also a gift to the national football team, and the national football team defeated Singapore 4-1 at home in this round.
As a seeded team in the group, South Korea did not get off to a good start after the change of coach, and interim coach Hwang Hee-hong led the team to a 1-1 draw by Thailand, losing face at home and missing the opening three consecutive wins.
After 5 days, South Korea played Thailand again, this time with Thailand at home, and the away team was full of confidence to take away 1 point, and the goal was to score all three points to continue to cause upsets. For the national football team, it is natural to hope that South Korea will help defeat Thailand and let the latter not score a point in this round of the group stage.
In the latest world rankings, South Korea is ranked 22nd and Thailand is ranked 101st.
In this game, South Korea adjusted the lineup, and Lee Gang-in, who was reduced to a substitute in the last game, returned to the starting line-up, partnering Hwang In-beom, Baek Seung-ho, and Lee Jae-seong in the midfield, and the forward combination was led by Son Heung-min and Cho Gyu-sung.
After the opening, Thailand tried to grab the opening game and directly attacked South Korea.
In the 45+2nd minute, Cho Gyu-sung passed the goalkeeper and passed to the goal, and Lee Jae-seong outflanked and pushed the shot, helping South Korea lead 1-0.
According to the statistics of the half, South Korea has an advantage of 62% possession, but the offensive advantage is not large, with 4 to 3 shots on goal and 2 to 1 shots on target, both of which are slightly ahead, while the corner kick is 1-2 behind Thailand, and South Korea played a difficult half in this half.
In the 53rd minute, Lee Gang-in assisted Son Heung-min to score from a small angle, and the two hugged and celebrated, helping South Korea to score 2-0.
Since the start of this World Preliminary Tournament, Son Xingmin has scored 5 goals in 4 rounds, and scored the 46th goal for the national team.
In the 82nd minute, Park Jin-sub scored in a scuffle in the penalty area to help South Korea seal the victory 3-0.
After the victory, South Korea has been unbeaten with 3 wins and 1 draw since the beginning, accumulating 10 points to rank first in the group, 6 points behind third-ranked Thailand, and only need a draw to qualify for the next round away to Singapore.
Of course, South Korea's defeat of Thailand also sent an assist to the national football team, which not only overtook Thailand to rise to second place in the group, but also threw off Thailand by 3 points, and defeated Thailand at home in the next round to advance to the next round.
South Korea's starting lineup: 21-Cho Hyun-woo, 3-Kim Jin-so, 4-Kim Min-jae, 19-Kim Young-kwon, 15-Kim Mun-hwan, 6-Hwang In-beom, 8-Baek Seung-ho, 10-Lee Jae-seong, 18-Lee Gang-in, 7-Son Heung-min, 9-Cho Gyu-sung
Thailand starting line-up: 1-Bativa, 3-Tirathong (22' 21-Supanam), 12-Miksen, 16-Suphan, 17-Bansa, 7-Subachol, 8-Biladon, 13-Charunsa, 18-Songkrasin, 9-Subachai, 22-Willard