Thais dream of China Cup surprise
Uruguayans outright favourites for crown
The War Elephants yesterday geared up for their China Cup final against two-time former World Cup winners Uruguay fully aware that their underdogs status was actually more like an understatement.
However, most of the Thai players are relishing the rare opportunity of playing against a side spotted 107 places above them at No.7 in the latest Fifa rankings this evening.
“Teamwork” continued to be the mantra in the Thai camp in Nanning yesterday as they prepared for the encounter, which kicks off at 6.35pm and will be televised live by Thai Rath TV (32).
Also today, hosts China will be attempting to win back some of their fans when they face Uzbekistan in the third-place play-off.
China were handed a shock 1-0 loss by the Thais on Thursday night, giving former Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro a disappointing start to his bid to become full-time coach of Team Dragon.
The result — ensured by a nifty first-half strike by crafty playmaker Chanathip Songkrasin — helped Thailand avenge their 2-1 loss to China in January’s Asia Cup last 16 round in the United Arab Emirates.
Uruguay recorded an impressive 3-0 victory over Uzbekistan on Friday night to reach the final.
Thailand seemed to have not only embraced the underdogs’ tag, but are actually enjoying it.
Choketawee Promrat, interim assistant coach, did not shy away from declaring Uruguay as “heavy favourites” to lift the trophy this evening.
“They [Uruguay] were solid in defence and excellent in offence in the game against Uzbekistan on Friday,” said Sirisak. “There is no doubt that they are a world-class team and are far ahead of us.
“We just can’t devise a strategy based on marking their players one-to-one, we won’t stand a chance against them.
“The only way to handle them is through teamwork. We would have defend as a team and attack as a team.”
However, the former Thailand defender won’t rule out a surprise in the title showdown.
“In football, no team is 100 percent perfect, so Uruguay have their weaknesses as well,” he said.
“Our job will be to make it difficult for them to move the ball around and plug the gaps.
“I am sure that Uruguay will give us some space but we shouldn’t get entrapped because they will be lying in wait for the openings.
“The players are both nervous and optimistic and it’s all part of the game.
“A number of them are dreaming of a surprise in the final and I would say anything is possible in football.
“If we can pull off an upset victory over a world No.7 team like Uruguay, it would go down as one of the brightest moments in the history of Thai football.”
The final will be the last match in charge of Thai team both for Choketawee and head coach Sirisak Yodyardthai.
The duo were appointed at the helm of the Thai side after the War Elephants’ 4-1 loss to India in the Asian Cup in January which led to the sacking of Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac.
Sirisak then guided the team to the last-16 round before losing 2-1 to China.
The Football Association of Thailand announced on Friday that Sirisak and Choketawee did not have the right qualifications to take over the team on a full-time basis.
Uruguay are missing some of their key players, including Barcelona star Luis Suarez, in the tournament which offers Fifa world ranking points.
Thailand, on their part, need to run a fitness check on defender Pansa Hemviboon, who missed the game against China due to a knee injury.