South Korea vs Thailand

South Korea will be looking to redeem themselves for a dismal Asian Cup journey when they take on Thailand at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in their third 2026 World Cup qualifying game.

Back to competitive action after a frustrating semi-final exit at the recently completed Asian Cup, three-time continental champions South Korea continue their quest to reach the World Cup finals for the 11th tournament on the trot. The ‘Taegeuk Warriors’ couldn’t have hoped for a better start to their qualifying Group C campaign, demolishing Singapore 5-0 on day one before a 3-0 thumping of China on Matchday 2. Alone at the summit, three points clear of second-placed Thailand, the Koreans are odds-on favorites to extend that gap, having won five of their last six encounters against the ‘War Elephants’ (D1). Except for a scoreless home draw in 1997, they’ve won all three remaining H2Hs in World Cup qualifying via multi-goal margins, impressively scoring 3+ goals on each occasion.

That paints a bleak picture for Thailand, who, after a 2-1 home loss to China in their curtain-raising Group C fixture, brushed Singapore aside with a 3-1 victory to move second in the section. But there’s still a long road ahead of the ‘War Elephants’ as they bid to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time in the nation’s history. Taking something out of this contest would be huge, yet a three-game winless run in the build-up to this trip (D2, L1) can’t inspire much confidence. It’s also worth noting both those draws ended scoreless, casting further doubt on Thailand’s hopes of staging an upset in Seoul. Masatada Ishii’s side would probably settle for another goalless showdown, but they’ve only done so twice in seven historic H2Hs.