Lifeless Korea draw 1-1 with Thailand in World Cup qualifier

Korea drew 1-1 with Thailand in a 2026 World Cup qualifier at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Thursday, blowing a hard-earned lead in a concerningly tepid match under new interim manager Hwang Sun-hong.

Korea's Son Heung-min, left, shoots during a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Thailand at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Thursday. [NEWS1]

Korea drew 1-1 with Thailand in a 2026 World Cup qualifier at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Thursday, blowing a hard-earned lead in a concerningly tepid performance under new interim manager Hwang Sun-hong.

Hwang’s slightly-tweaked squad from the Asian Cup last month — where Korea exited in the semifinals under then-manager Jurgen Klinsmann — displayed a lackluster performance in what on paper should have been a one-sided match.

The FIFA ranking difference — Korea at No. 22 and Thailand at No. 101 — proved to be virtually meaningless, with the Taeguk Warriors showing a lack of cohesion and struggling against Thailand.

Hwang made a few ineffective changes to the star-studded squad from the Asian Cup, benching regular midfielder pick Lee Kang-in in favor of Jeong Woo-yeong and starting forward Joo Min-kyu, on his first call up at 33 years and 333 days, in lieu of Cho Gue-sung.

The team struggled to handle the Thai players’ pressure in the early going, giving the ball away and failing to produce anything serious with little ball possession. The defense looked shaky and even allowed the first shot to go to Supachai Chaided in the sixth minute, but goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo made short work of it.

Midfielder Lee Jae-sung’s impact was clear during the first half despite the team’s lack of cohesion, showing good positioning skills and making effective passes in the team’s build-up process.

With the rest of the midfielders failing to move effectively on the attack, however, Jeong, Son Heung-min and Joo were unable to create any opportunities.

The Thai defense man marked all of Korea's attackers, an approach that Klinsmann had no answer to and Hwang does not appear to, either, Korea did finally break through in the 42nd minute for Son to tap in the go-ahead goal, putting the home side up 1-0 going into the break.

Korea’s defense, however, still seemed disorganized in the second half and it was not long before Thailand equalized in the 61st minute.

Lee Kang-in, who came on right after the equalizer, made tidy crosses, but his teammates failed to convert.

Cho also came on but was unproductive, failing to land a solid shot on target through the final whistle.

Thursday’s 1-1 draw was Korea’s first draw in the second round of the World Cup qualifiers after two wins in Group C.

Korea will now play the away leg against Thailand on March 26, as each group in the second round of qualifiers plays with a home-and-away round robin system. The second round will wrap up in June.

The national team is expected to go through some changes again after the away match, as a new permanent manager should take the helm in early May. The Korea Football Association said last month that it would appoint a permanent manager by then and has not postponed its decision yet.

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