Thailand were drawn in the tough Group C of the Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 for the 2026 Fifa World Cup and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup on Thursday.
The group includes Asian giants South Korea and China with the fourth team in the pool being the winners of a play-off between Singapore or Guam.
The 36 participating countries were drawn into nine groups of four teams each. They will compete against each other in a home-and-away, round-robin format between November 2023 and June 2024.
A total of 10 teams from the phase will progress to Round 1 of the Preliminary Joint Qualification.
As there will be 48 teams -- a first -- at the 2026 World Cup, eight and a half slots are on offer to the Asian teams.
Thai team manager Nualphan Lamsam admitted it was a tough draw for the War Elephants as "South Korea and China are among the top teams in Asia. But we will be trying our best."
Henderson completes move
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has completed his move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq, both clubs announced on Thursday.
The England midfielder is the latest big-name player to move from the Premier League to Saudi Arabia after 12 years at Anfield.
"We can confirm @JHenderson has completed a transfer to Al-Ettifaq," Liverpool said on their social media channels.
Al-Ettifaq posted: "A leader. A warrior. We're simply thrilled to have him."
The 33-year-old has finalised a deal with reported wages of up to £700,000-a-week. Liverpool are due to receive an initial £12 million from the Saudi club. Bangkok Post/afp
