South Korea and Son back on road to World Cup after turbulent Asian Cup, China take on Singapore in regional qualifiers
- Change of coach unlikely to stop South Korea picking up another three points against Thailand on Thursday
- China are also trying to recover from a poor Asian Cup, and have replaced their head coach too
Son Heung-min and South Korea must move on from their turbulent Asian Cup when they return to World Cup qualifying on Thursday, while Japan face North Korea in a double-header that sees them travel to Pyongyang.
Asian football is back on the road to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, a month after Qatar retained the continental crown on home soil with a 3-1 victory over Jordan.
Much has happened since South Korea were dumped out 2-0 by unfancied Jordan in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup, including the sacking of coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
It emerged that skipper Son and Paris Saint-Germain attacking midfielder Lee Kang-in had been involved in a fracas on the eve of the match, leaving the Tottenham attacker with a dislocated finger.
Legendary German striker Klinsmann was dismissed after having promised to take South Korea to their first Asian title in 64 years. He has been replaced on an interim basis by Hwang Sun-hong.
Son and Lee have since made up, and Hwang included the pair in his squad for the home game with Thailand on Thursday and the return fixture five days later.
