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Thailand wins 'dramatic draw with South Korea

Thai players, who drew with South Korea, even take bonuses.

The Korean national soccer team, led by interim coach Hwang Seon-hong, tied with Thailand, ranked 101st in FIFA, at the third Group C match of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 North-Central America World Cup, which took place at the Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on Sunday. South Korea maintained its lead in the group with two wins and one draw.

For Korea, the draw was almost like a loss. Korea failed to keep Son's opening goal of the 42nd minute in the first half, allowing an equalizer in the 16th minute of the second half. Korea pushed Thailand throughout the match, but the winning goal that was expected was not scored.

Thailand performed better than expected. It was no longer a level to ignore Southeast Asian soccer. Rather, Thailand was superior to Korea, which only trained for one day. Thailand thoroughly planned and implemented what kind of soccer it would play.

There was another reason why Thai players worked so hard. "Madam Fang," said Nualfan Ramsam, the 58-year-old head of the Thai Football Association, is betting 4 million baht on Thailand's victory over South Korea. He announced a bonus of 1 million baht (36.6 million won) just when the team tied with South Korea. "Thai players will return to Bangkok after receiving 1 million baht."

Regardless of the amount of money, it is important to know that it motivated Thai players to play hard. The soccer ball is round. Higher salaries of Korean players do not necessarily guarantee victory.

Nualfan Ramsam, president of the Thai Football Association, is a noble tycoon who is the CEO of Moong Thai Life Insurance, a large Thai company. Forbes, an American business magazine, named Ramsam as one of the 25 most influential female companies in Asia in 2020. The Ramsammun is the 27th richest man in Thailand. She is well-known for her immense love of soccer, as she has served as the owner of Port FC. In fact, you can easily see the advertisements in which she appears in Thailand.

"If we win, we will give you 20 million baht (about 700 million won) in prize money as well as luxury goods, Rolex watches, and iPhone," Ramsam declared in order to beat Vietnam led by coach Park Hang-seo at the 2022 Southeast Asian World Cup. Thanks to this, Thailand beat its archrival Vietnam.

"My dream is for Thailand to advance to the World Cup finals someday just like Korea and Japan," he said, displaying his immense love for soccer. Now, Korea is in a position to invade Thailand's enemy camp. We cannot let our guard down in Southeast Asia, where there are many variables. Korea could not beat Thailand in Seoul, either 슬롯사이트