On March 21, Beijing time, the third round of Group C of the second phase of the World Cup Asian Qualifiers ended with two key battles, South Korea drew 1-1 with Thailand at home, and the Chinese men's football team drew 2-2 away with Singapore. In the standings, the South Korean team has 7 points to secure the top spot, the Thai team has 4 points to hold the second place, the Chinese team is still in 3rd place with 4 points, and Singapore finally got the first point to continue to be at the bottom.
Team Singapore - China
The Chinese team took the initiative and completely suppressed the opponent on the field. Soon after the opening, the Chinese team had a chance to establish an early lead, Xie Pengfei found Zhang Yuning with a precise long pass, but the latter failed to stop the ball and missed a great opportunity to score. Two minutes later, Wang Shangyuan and Wu Lei cooperated tacitly, and a precise 45-degree oblique pass found Wu Lei, who was unmarked in the penalty area, and Wu Lei's header bounced into the net, opening the door to victory for the Chinese team.
The Chinese team continued to press in the front court to create many chances, and in the middle of the half, Wu Lei's shot in the penalty area was blocked by the opposing player with his arm. However, the quality of Wu Lei's penalty was not high, and it was easily saved by Singapore goalkeeper Sonny, and Lei's psychological quality was still a little worse. Before the end of the half, after Xie Pengfei's peripheral volley was saved, Wu Lei quickly followed up and scored a follow-up shot, and his sense of smell and reaction speed in front of the goal were indeed more prominent among the national football players.
The two-goal lead of the Chinese team was a little lax in the second half, especially the mistake in the backfield defense, the Singapore team counterattacked with a long pass in the backfield, Ramley took the ball in front of the field and volleyed into the opposite corner, Yan Junling couldn't save the ball into the net, and the Singapore team recovered a goal. In the 82nd minute, Ramli crossed from the left side of the frontfield, Zhang Linpeng and Jiang Guangtai made mistakes in clearing one after another, Mahler scored from close range, and Singapore chased two goals in a row to equalize.
In this game, the Chinese team tried the tactics of combining side breakthrough and middle penetration on the offensive side many times, and relied on Wu Lei's active performance to score two goals in the half. However, defensively, the Chinese team lacked concentration and was disrupted by the opponent's concise long pass fast attack, and goalkeeper Yan Junling and the back line made consecutive mistakes to concede two goals in a row.
According to the statistics after the game, the Chinese team, who were superior on paper, did not achieve a clear advantage, with 58% possession and 4 of 11 shots on target. On the other hand, Singapore had 12 shots on goal but only five on target, and Wu Lei's missed penalty was a key factor in the draw.
Team South Korea - Team Thailand
South Korea didn't start the game with pressure, but Thailand was more aggressive, taking the lead with a threatening shot. However, the South Korean team quickly took over the game and continued to press, but what was presented on the field was "no score", threatening the attack a lot, but the ability to convert goals was still almost meaningless. Before half-time, South Korea tore through the Thai defence through a delicate combination, Lee Jae-seong broke through the bottom on the left and sent an inverted triangle back pass, Son Heung-min showed his world-class striker's nose, outflanked in time to push the net, and the South Korean team took the lead.
However, the second half of the game changed dramatically. Thailand made a substitution after fending off an onslaught in the opening stages, with Supana coming off the bench and quickly making a decisive move. He cleverly set up Miksen to threaten with his back to the ball, and then Supana followed up with a follow-up shot to knock the ball into the back of the net, and the Thai team stubbornly pulled the score to a 1-1 level.
Throughout the game, although the South Korean team had an absolute advantage, there were also cases where the shot hit the goal frame, but it failed to convert into more goals, and the defense was too careless to effectively prevent the opponent's quick counterattack. The overall feeling is that the South Korean team is still in a run-in period after the new coach Hwang Sun-hong took charge. Thailand's performance was commendable, with the goalkeeper standing out for the goalkeeper in the form of a defensive base and then a counter-attack.
Full-time stats show that South Korea had 79% possession and completed 25 shots on goal, eight of which were on target, while Thailand had only six shots, but their efficient counter-attacking strategy allowed them to seize two shots on target and successfully score a goal.
Standings:
After two games in this round, the South Korean team won 2 wins and 1 draw and scored 7 points to firmly top the list, the Thai team won 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss and accumulated 4 points and temporarily ranked 2nd with a goal difference, the Chinese team 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss and 4 points are still in 3rd place, and the Singapore team is at the bottom with 3 games, 1 draw and 2 losses and 1 point.
The fourth round of the group will be played on March 26, with China playing Singapore at home and Thailand playing South Korea at home.