As time passes, the Korean soccer team led by Son has transformed and is no longer the "black whistle division" of the past. In terms of sportsmanship, the Korean team's performance in the past two years has been quite well received. Facing Thailand, the South Korean team showed an unrelenting momentum and won by three goals, which not only helped the team return to the second place in the group, but also made the fans praise in unison: "Thank you for the passion of South Korea!" Nevertheless, the overall strength of the Korean team was not diminished by the victory. They scored twelve goals and conceded only one in four matches, which makes people worry about the China-Korea battle in June, fearing that the national soccer team will repeat the same mistake and the shadow of the first round of the game's fiasco will loom over them again.
Examining the rules of the World Qualifier, the top 36 teams will go through a first stage, divided into nine groups, with the top two from each group advancing directly, followed by a draw into three groups of six teams each. A home-and-away double round-robin system is used, with only the top two from each group advancing directly. This means that the competition will be even hotter. The new coach, Ivankovic, has not been on the job long and has limited room for adjustment in the face of the tight schedule. He must quickly develop tactics and be flexible according to the real-time situation to avoid being too dogmatic. For example, if the single back diamond midfield tactic is forced, the players need to have extraordinary strength, otherwise they are vulnerable to defeat in front of strong teams.
While the national team should be pleased to have regained control of the game, the battle against Thailand is a crucial one in the long run. The national team will have to leave their luck behind and take all three points in order to be on the road to qualification.
