[ad_1]
Thailand's interim coach, Sirisak Yodyardthai, gave an optimistic but cautious tone on the eve of the last Asian War Elephant Cup confrontation with China, but added that his men had what it took to progress in the quadrennial tournament.
Thailand and China meet at Al Ain's Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium on Sunday at 21:00 (Thailand time) and the match will be broadcast live by Channel 7 and Fox Sports 2.
The enthusiasm of the Thais stems in part from the rumor that prolific Chinese striker Wu Lei is likely to miss Sunday's game in the face of a shoulder injury that sidelined him last month. Dragons against South Korea in Group C. China lost the match 2-0 to finish second in their group.
Wu was the chief executioner in June of last year when his corset offered China a 2-0 win over Thailand in a friendly match at Rajamangla National Stadium in Bangkok.
(But China coach Marcello Lippi said Wu was "ready to play" for Sunday's match.)
Sirisak said: "We have come so far and hope to continue in the quarterfinals, so our players are eager to play and are ready for the game.
"We learned from our experience in the first round, we found many weaknesses and we will make the necessary adjustments to improve our game before the meeting with China in the last round.
"The situation in the team is very good.The President of the Football Association of Thailand [Somyot Poompunmuang] is back with us to cheer on the team and we know that Thai fans will take root for us, as always. "
However, Sirisak, who took the helm of the national team after the dismissal of Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac after his heavy defeat against India in the first game of Group A, added that He had some concerns before the match against China.
"I am progress of the Chinese team since I was appointed badistant coach of the team in 2017.
"I have to admit that they have players who worry me a lot.
"But I'm a coach and I can not afford to worry too much because it could affect my team's chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
"Since I coach, I've allowed players to express themselves in the field and now everyone is happy and supportive." That's the reason we got together. improved as a team. "
Earlier, Sirisak had admitted to waiting for a tough game against the Chinese at Al Ain.
"I am not saying that we will have an easy time against the Chinese, we will have to prepare the team for the match, they prefer to use long balls, which would require us to adjust our style and tactics for the match." ," he said.
"I have the feeling that we can play a tight game with the Chinese and stop them.
"China is coached by Marcello Lippi and his style can not be so different from that of the United Arab Emirates, which is driven by Alberto Zaccheroni [also from Italy]. "
Thai players celebrate after the match against the United Arab Emirates which ended 1-1 and Thailand placed in the round of 16 from Sunday. (Photo by Reuters)
Thailand drew 1-1 with the UAE in their last outing in Group A to take second place in the final pool table.
Under Sirisak, Thailand also beat Bahrain 1-0.
Thai midfielder Tanaboon Kesarat added: "We are looking forward to the match.
"China has improved a lot since we beat them 5-1 five years ago, they are stronger now, we will do our best and give a good fight to China."
[ad_2]
Source link
