Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in back in business as Korea beat Thailand 3-0

Football

Published: 27 Mar. 2024, 00:05 Updated: 27 Mar. 2024, 09:02

Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in back in business as Korea beat Thailand 3-0

Korea's Lee Kang-in, left, and Son Heung-min celebrate during a World Cup qualifier against Thailand at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Korea beat Thailand 3-0 in the second leg of a World Cup qualifier in Bangkok on Tuesday, finally giving fans something to celebrate after a difficult few months for the Taeguk Warriors.

Korea took an early lead at Rajamangala Stadium in the Thai capital, with Cho Gue-sung and Lee Jae-sung combing to put the visitors up in the 19th minute. Captain Son Heung-min added No. 2 at the start of the second half and Park Jin-seop got his first goal for Korea in the 82nd minute.

It was not all plain sailing — Thailand had the first shot on goal within the first minute and some sloppy defense, including a Korea throw-in tossed right across their own box, allowed the home side to get five good shots on target — but as the game progressed the Taeguk Warriors began to look more in control of the game than they have for months.

Korea's Cho Gue-sung in action during a World Cup qualifier against Thailand at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

After disappointing outings at both the Asian Cup and against Thailand last week, Cho looked far more confident on Tuesday — perhaps because he single-handedly created the first goal, playing himself down the side of the box, beating the goalkeeper and then rolling the ball along the line for Lee Jae-sung to tap in.

Son, who scored the only goal in a 1-1 draw with Thailand last week, picked up a well-placed ball from Lee Kang-in in the 63rd minute, beating the last defender and going right down to the edge of the goal where he nutmegged the goalie for a classy No. 2.

Korea's Son Heung-min, left, and Lee Kang-in celebrate during a World Cup qualifier against Thailand at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

That the goal was a Lee-Son combination will not be lost on Korean fans, who had to watch the national team appear to tear itself apart last month after news broke of a fight between the popular pair. They officially buried the hatchet soon after, but Tuesday’s goal — and the sight of Lee jumping into Son’s arms immediately after — is proof that whatever happened is well behind them.

Park, meanwhile, got his first goal for the Warriors from a corner, the ball headed down by Kim Min-jae straight to his feet to blast into the back of the net.

The 3-0 win should provide a faint glimmer of hope for Korean football fans after what has been an especially dark period for the national team.

Korea's Park Jin-seop, center, celebrates after scoring his first goal for Korea during a World Cup qualifier against Thailand at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Korea crashed out of the Asian Cup last month after losing 2-0 to Jordan in the semifinals, capping off an incredibly lackluster campaign that had seen Korea play what the local press dubbed “zombie football” — a sort of slow plodding forward through the tournament with no sign of skill, finesse or even life in the squad.

That disappointing exit was then followed by news that the team’s two biggest stars, Son and Lee Kang-in, had some sort of altercation — perhaps, or perhaps not, physical — on the sidelines of the Asian Cup, leading to a week of media fervor and then a very public reconcile.

The then-manager Jurgen Klinsmann was quickly shown the door and the KFA brought in Hwang Sun-hong as an interim manager despite him also being in charge of the U-23 team. KFA Chairman Chung Mong-gyu, who many fans say is the real culprit for Korea’s early exit from the Asian Cup and general mismanagement, survived the entire ordeal and remains firmly entrenched at the top of the organization.

Then last week, with Klinsmann out, Son and Lee Kang-in now friends and the Asian Cup behind us all, Korea still failed to beat Thailand at home at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul, conceding in the second half off the back of some sloppy defending.

But now, finally, there are signs of life again.

Thailand may not be Brazil — the southeast Asian country ranks nearly 80 spots behind Korea on the FIFA world ranking — but they have been formidable opponents in both games this week and the win does suggest that maybe things are starting to look up.

Tuesday’s game wraps up the March international break, with the players all expected to return to their respective clubs ahead of the regular weekend fixtures.

It may also be the last game under Hwang’s temporary leadership, with the KFA announcing last month that they intended to have a permanent manager in place by early May.

Korea ranks in first place in Group C in the second round of Asian World Cup qualifiers with 10 points, three more than China in second place and six more than Thailand in third.

With two games left to play — against Singapore on June 6 and China on June 11 — Korea are highly likely to comfortably progress to the third round.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]