Korea look to turn things around in Thailand rematch

The Korean national team trains at Windmill Football Club in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Korea will face Thailand in the away leg of a 2026 World Cup qualifier on Tuesday after a disappointing 1-1 draw at home last week.

Tuesday’s match will put interim manager Hwang Sun-hong to the test again. Attention will be on whether he can show improvements from his first game in charge, during which the squad displayed a lack of cohesion and vulnerability in defense.

The midfield lineup may see some changes from Thursday's game, as both Hwang In-beom and Paik Seung-ho were ineffective in the team’s build-up process.

Hwang mistimed his passes multiple times, while Paik made a mistake that gave the ball away to Thailand in a dangerous position, ultimately leading to Thailand’s first shot on target.

Mainz midfielder Lee Jae-sung was one of the few players to shine last week, displaying good positioning skills and passes in addition to an assist that led to Son Heung-min’s opening goal.

The midfielders’ main task in Tuesday’s game will be finding a way to handle the pressure that Korea struggled with last week.

As for the forwards, they will need to break through Thailand’s defense where multiple defenders man mark attackers at the same time. Former manager Jurgen Klinsmann had no answer to the tactic, and Hwang did not seem to on Thursday.

Forward Joo Min-kyu, who played his first-ever national team game as the oldest player to do so at 33 years and 343 days, was still effective in the game, as he was strong on the ball and made movements up front that allowed his teammates to create chances.

Jeong Woo-yeong, on the other hand, proved to be less effective, failing to unlock the Thai defense on the sides of the pitch.

The Korean national team is expected to go through some changes after Thursday’s qualifier, as it will likely be Hwang’s last in charge. The Korea Football Association said last month that it plans to appoint a new permanent manager by May.

Korea sit at the top of Group C with seven points as of Monday. The second round of qualifiers in which four teams play with a home and away round robin system will wrap up in June.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]