“Losing to China at home”.

China came from behind to defeat Thailand 2-1 in the first match of Group C of the 2026 North American Football Confederation (NAFTA) Asia Zone Second Qualifying Round on Saturday at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Group C includes top-seeded South Korea, China, Thailand and Singapore. With the win, China moved into a tie for second place with South Korea (5-0 against Singapore) with three points, but on goal difference.

To make matters worse, Thailand scored first. Sarach Yuyen opened the scoring in the 23rd minute to give Thailand a 1-0 lead.

In a tightly contested match, China responded in the 29th minute with a goal from Wu Lei. It was the equalizer for the second half.

China made a number of substitutions to try and turn the game around, and Wang Xiangyuan scored the winning goal in the 19th minute of the second half. In the end, China was able to hold off Thailand’s comeback to secure their first win.

With the victory, China swept the Thais on the road, giving them an advantage in the race for the next two spots against top-seeded South Korea. Thailand, on the other hand, found themselves in the worst possible situation after dropping the fateful first game.

Shortly after this game, Thailand flipped. A home loss to China, a team they should have beaten, effectively ended Thailand’s chances of qualifying for the third round of the World Cup after just one game.

Now, the Thais only have two tough games left, away to China and home and away to South Korea.

“After the game, Thai soccer fans collectively voiced their dissatisfaction with head coach Mano Paul King, who was criticized for a puzzling lineup and for substituting an in-form ace player for a starter,” Siam Sports reported.

“On Thai social media, there were protest messages and tags from soccer fans saying ‘Mano out’. In fact, several soccer fans claimed that Paul King was no longer qualified to lead the Thai national team. Some even suggested that he should resign immediately.” 무지개토토 도메인