“Where is Son Heung-min?”
“What color are Lee Kang-in’s soccer shoes?”
The Thai media was all about Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain). In the first meeting, Son scored a goal and Lee came off the bench to try to change the course of the game, but Supanat Muyenta’s stunning equalizer turned the tide in a 1-1 draw.
The South Korean and Thai national soccer teams staggered their official training sessions and press conferences on Friday, one day ahead of their return match at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, in the return leg of Group C of the 안전카지노사이트 Asian Second Qualifying Round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup North America.
The big question is whether Thailand can make history at home against South Korea. The last official win was on Dec. 14, 1998, in the quarterfinals of the Asian Games in Bangkok. It was a 1-2 loss, a defeat that marked the end of an all-time record of 30 wins, 8 draws and 8 losses.
The encounter at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Nov. 21 was not an easy one for Thailand, but they managed to break through the defense with precise counterattacks to earn a draw. “We played as a team,” said head coach Masatada Ishii.
Ishii’s goal was to shut down everyone, not just Son Heung-min, who scored the goal. “I know that many Korean players are playing in European leagues. Korea is playing well. We have to do our best and focus on stopping them,” Ishii said, adding that he would put the team in front again.
However, in big games, special individuals can be the key to victory. Son Heung-min is certainly one of them. As a reporter from True Sports, Thailand’s largest sports channel, said, “Son Heung-min is Asia’s ‘Only One’. Whether we can stop him again will be a key factor in this match.”
It’s a phrase reminiscent of Jose Mourinho’s description of Son’s progression from Special One to Only One to Normal One when he coached him at Tottenham.
As the team warmed up, the Thai media was inundated with requests to know where Son Heung-min was. “What color soccer shoes is he wearing?” “Has he pulled up his training uniform?” They tried to capture as much of him as possible.
Lee Kang-in was also in the spotlight. A reporter from another broadcasting channel asked for help identifying Lee Kang-in. After a while, I realized that it was not Lee Kang-in, but Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City) and Hwang In-beom (Tsubena Zvezda), and I was asked, “Are you trying to hide your power?” Still, the Thai media seems to have realized that Lee Kang-in was a key player in the match.
The Thai media reportedly had about 120 people signed up for the match. This includes broadcast, newspaper, internet, and photographers. While the Thai national team is the top priority, it’s clear that Son Heung-min is getting equal attention.