Taegeuk Warriors Reunited With Lee Kang-in, who found a smile

The Taegeuk Warriors, who reunited with Lee Kang-in Paris Saint-Germain, who found a smile, will play a return match against Thailand for the first time in five days. The national soccer team, which drew 1-1 after a slump at its home turf, aims to win in an away match in a difficult environment such as humid and hot weather. Perhaps, it can be the last "Hwangseon Red Lake" journey, so victory is needed even more.

South Korea, led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong, will play Thailand at 9:30 p.m. on the 26th at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, in the fourth Group C match of the second Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.

South Korea failed to keep Son Heung-min Tottenham's first goal in the third Group C match against Thailand at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 21st and drew 1-1.

Korea is maintaining its lead in the group with two wins and one draw seven points. Thailand ranks second in the group with one win, one draw and one loss four points.

Korea was not satisfied with both the content and the result at home against Thailand.

Coach Hwang Sun-hong, who temporarily took the helm for two consecutive games in March after Jurgen Klinsmann's replacement last month, made changes by putting forward Joo Min-kyu Ulsan as the members of the Asian Cup, but failed to win the three points he wanted.

Still, it was comforting to see the national team, which had recently suffered internal strife, united as one. During the game, the scene where captain Son Heung-min smiled and put his arms around his shoulders with Lee Kang-in symbolically implied a lot.

Coach Hwang said, "It's true that we didn't have enough time to prepare, but I think we played with 100% unity, including communication between the players."

That's all the satisfaction in the process. Now, the result is desperate.

The Thailand expedition is important for both Hwang Sun-hong and the Taegeuk Warriors.

For Hwang, who has been temporarily in charge of the team for two games in March, if he fails to win in away games and draws or, in the worst case, loses, his leadership could suffer a serious blow. It would not only be good for Hwang to be excluded from the list of candidates for the next A-team, but also for the current U-23 Olympic team. If he wins, he will be able to flap his wings in reverse.

If South Korea wins three points, it will have 10 points, effectively confirming the final qualifying round. In the second qualifying round, the top two teams will advance to the final qualifying round, but if they lose against Thailand, they will be burdened with the future schedule.

Lee Kang-in is drawing the most attention in this away match. Lee, who became a "trouble maker" during the Asian Cup, started as a substitute in the second half of the match on Sunday. Although he failed to post an offensive point, he showed off his signature left foot that flashed on several occasions.

If he had been deployed in the second half of the match in Seoul due to the delay in joining due to time difference, chances are high that he will start and lead the attack in this away match in Bangkok. Lee Kang-in will regain his smile during the field training in Bangkok and aim for the Thai goal.

Furthermore, if Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in collaborate with offensive points, they can also change their negative view of the national team, which has not been good recently.

Meanwhile, the Korean team has to play in an away match against Bangkok in an environment with temperatures approaching 30 degrees Celsius and humidity approaching 70 percent. The Rajamangala Stadium is expected to draw some 50,000 fans. All tickets were sold out early on, and as the tickets were tied at an away match in Seoul, the price of ticket tickets increased by almost 10 times, drawing keen attention from the Korean team.

Thanks to an unexpected draw in an away match in Korea, Thai players are also strongly determined. The Thai Football Association also mentioned the possibility of awarding a prize to its players for their home win.

South Korea and Thailand have 30 wins, 8 draws, and 8 losses in 46 games, and we are ahead.

The most recent defeat was 26 years ago, when the team lost 1-2 in the quarterfinals at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok. Back then, the venue for this showdown was Rajamangala Stadium.