Asiad98 - Korea Thailand Football Match

THE MATCH
Quarterfinal elimination between host country, Thailand, and regional powerhouse, Korea. Rajamangala national stadium was packed with 60,000 screaming fans, enough riot police to take care of any mayhem, and two teams that would produce some very exciting football.

Listen to our audio coverage of this highly charged sports spectacle.
Click on the streaming icon to listen or Right Click on the 'download'
icon to save the audio file to your hard drive.

Need help? Click here.

The Fans
Face painting, which was somewhat noticeable earlier in the Games, has risen to a new level of of popularity in the Kingdom. A bare faced Thai was the exception, not the rule at this match.

The Korean Fans (known as the Red Devil Cheering Squad)
Although outnumbered by about 100 to 1, the Koreans more than held their own when it came to making noise. Whether they were drumming, singing, or waving their huge flag, there was no doubt that they their devotion to Team Korea ran very deep.

The Action
Even for this North American, it was a very engaging battle. The match remained scoreless until there were 10 minutes left to play when Thailand went up 1-0. Minutes later, Surachai Jirasirichote of the Thai Squad was sent off, allowing Korea to score the equalizer and leaving the Thais with only 9 men on the field to Korea's full complement of 11. Regulation play ended with a score of 1-1.

The game became increasingly physical. Three players had to be carted off on stretchers.

**Everyone was captivated -** The Pocari Sweat girls decided to forget about sales, the Riot policemen couldn't help sneaking peeks, and even the babies knew something was going on.

Six minutes into the extra period, the undermanned Thai team was awarded a free
kick and sent a blistering 30 yarder into the Korean goal. The stadium erupted
with celebration as the Korean fans stared in disbelief. When the Korean team
come over to acknowledge their devoted fans, the heartache they shared was
clearly visible.

Celebrations continued in the stadium and on the streets of the capital for hours.
The next morning, The Bangkok Post described it as "the most emotional scenes
witnessed in years at a Thai sporting event'.

You'll need to have Real Player installed, in order to hear the audio. If you don't already have it, you can download it for free by clicking on the Real Player icon . If you need any help downloading Real files, click here.