2024-03-14 00:42:31
sports
Entered2024.03.14 09:42 Modified2024.03.14 09:42
Tickets for the third match of Group C of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup Asian region second qualifying round against Thailand, the first match of the national soccer team led by interim coach Hwang Sun-hong, have been sold out.
Amid various controversies surrounding Korean soccer, the ‘refusal to support’ movement arose, but it appears to have failed to suppress fans’ interest in the national team. The Korea Football Association announced on its social network service on the afternoon of the 13th, “Thanks to the support of soccer fans, all tickets for the match against Thailand on the 21st have been sold out.”
Accordingly, it is not possible to purchase separate admission tickets unless a cancellation ticket is issued.
The match against Thailand will kick off at 8 p.m. on the 21st at Seoul World Cup Stadium. This is a new start for the national team, which was reorganized under ‘temporary head coach’ Hwang after the dismissal of former coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
On the 11th, Coach Hwang announced the 23 national team players who will play against Thailand, including captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham).
The list selected by Coach Hwang also included Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who was heavily criticized after it was revealed that he physically clashed with Son Heung-min during the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup. There were many voices saying that he should not be selected for the national team in order to provide an opportunity for self-reflection, but since the two players involved had resolved the conflict, coach Hwang selected Lee Kang-in and gave him a chance to make up for it through soccer.
The match against Thailand is expected to be Lee Kang-in’s first time meeting domestic fans at the ground since ‘Table Tennis Gate’. Immediately after the Asian Cup, controversy intensified not only over the table tennis scandal but also over the entire process of former coach Klinsmann’s appointment, and some fans even called for a boycott of the Thailand match. The intention was to express protest to the Football Association through the empty stands, but the national team’s cheering team, the Red Devils, officially expressed their stance that they would join in the cheering.
On the 13th, the Red Devils announced through the social network service, “The essence of (the organization’s) existence is to support the players,” and “We will not boycott but support with a louder voice.”
Hwang Seon-hong’s national soccer team will begin training in preparation for the match against Thailand at Goyang Stadium in Gyeonggi-do on the afternoon of the 18th. After finishing the first match against Thailand on the 21st, they will move to Bangkok, Thailand on the 22nd and play the fourth match of Group C and the second match against Thailand at Rajamangala Stadium on the 26th.
/yunhap news
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