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At the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup, South Korean soccer was humiliated.

The game against Jordan, which suffered a crushing 0-2 defeat in the semifinals, was the most shocking, but the 3-3 draw with Malaysia in the third round of the group stage was also indispensable.

In particular, the pressure on the central midfielder turned out to be a fatal weakness, and there is a person who relentlessly penetrated it. It was Kim Pan-gon, coach of the Malaysian national team. Thailand, which will join the team at the gateway to the third qualifying round for the World Cup, also secured points in away matches to Korea, and plans to secure more points.

The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong, will play the fourth round of Group C of the 2026 FIFA North Central America (co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico) against Thailand at 9:30 p.m. on the 26th at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

South Korea and Thailand drew 1-1 in the third Group C match held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 21st. Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) scored the first goal in the 42nd minute of the first half, but the tie was drawn in the 16th minute by allowing Sufanat Mueanta (Buriram United) to score an equalizer.


Korea met Thailand, which is ranked 111th in the FIFA rankings, and struggled under strong pressure from the opponent team. With the build-up situation starting with a short pass from the back, Thailand strongly raised its line from the start of the first half to put pressure on the team.

As if Baek Seung-ho or Hwang In-beom knew the pattern of coming down, accepting, and going up, they actively pressured the players. Eventually, center-back duo Kim Min-jae and Kim Young-kwon tried to move forward on the side, giving the ball back to the side.

As a result, Son scored the first goal in the 42nd minute of the first half in an attack on the side, but gave up the mood to Thailand early in the second half. The center kept locking up strong and continuing the pressure. The center also maintained a certain distance from the side, continuing the pressure. The stance got stronger as Thailand tied the game with a score of no hit.


This was similar to the situation at the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar. Back then, Korea played almost all matches under the leadership of Park Yong-woo (Al-Ain) and Hwang In-beom. With two players in the midfield, the gap widened dramatically. In the match against Malaysia, Park Yong-woo was excluded from the starting lineup and Hwang In-beom was excluded. However, if the opposing teams put strong pressure on one or two Korean central midfielders, they continued to expose weaknesses that could weaken the team.

Malaysia started to properly target the team. In the third group match against the Republic of Korea, Malaysia induced side attacks through strong central pressure, and when the team cut off the ball in the center, it aimed for Korea's back space by making a quick counterattack.

Malaysia eventually scored three goals for South Korea, finishing the best tournament despite being eliminated from the group stage. South Korea allowed Malaysia to lose for the first time in 39 years after losing 0-1 in the away match of the first Asian qualifying match for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico in March 1985, and also gave up points.

Thailand, like Malaysia, tends to put pressure on Korea's weak point, the center. It proved this at the home game against Korea on Monday. It has earned Korea a point for the first time in 26 years. As the team had just teamed up under interim coach Hwang Sun-hong, it was targeted similarly to the Asian Cup in the first match against Thailand.

Furthermore, Thailand is aiming to win against Korea for the first time since the quarterfinals at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok. More than 48,000 seats have already been sold out, and the Thai Football Association has set up a large screen outside the stadium and is preparing an off-the-shelf cheering match. Korean away fans will also buy tickets to cheer for Korea, but Thailand's overwhelming atmosphere is expected.

Only when Korea successfully advances through the center and through strong pressure from Thailand both inside and outside the stadium, can Korea secure a point in away matches in Thailand. It is time to hide our weaknesses and increase the capacity of our high-class strikers, which is our strength.