Chenrop set to start again in Cambodia clash
Thai women’s team face hosts Malaysia tonight
>> Coach Worrawoot Srimaka has decided to tinker once again with his starting line-up for the Thai men’s football team’s clash with Cambodia tonight with skipper Chenrop Samphaodi back in favour.
Thailand, the two-time defending champions, will be aiming to claim three points from tonight’s Group B game after producing lacklustre perfromance s in a 1-1 draw against Indonesia and 1-0 victory over underdogs Timor Leste.
Today’s match will be played at Selayang Stadium and kicks off at 7.45pm. It will be televised live by Channel 5.
In the women’s event, Thailand today take on hosts Malaysia in their second match of the singleleague competition.
The War Elephants are currently in third place with four points in Group B, trailing Vietnam, who have six points, and Indonesia, who have the same number of points as Thailand but have a better goal difference.
The top two teams at the end of the round-robin, first-round action will reach the semi-finals of the men’s competition, which is now restricted to players aged under 22 years.
Yesterday, Worrawoot and his men spent two hours at the training field, focusing mainly on eliminating their key shortcomings: defending while being counter-attacked and converting scoring opportunities into goals.
Worrawoot said: “We are looking forward topic king up three points from t he game against Cambodia.
“We only have one player, Nopphol Pholkam, who is suffering from a sprained muscle but it’s not a big worry.
“Today we focused on scoring goals and also on ways to tackle counterattacks for the game with Cambodia.
“The Cambodians have lost their first two matches, but we cannot underestimate them at all because every team that plays Thailand does so to upset the defending champions.”
Worrawoot added: “We will have Chenrop Samphaodi back in the team. I believe he has the potential as I have followed his progress since he was young. He is a deeply motivated player but needs to get on the score sheet first to gain confidence. He can still have a successful tournament.”
Team manager Watanya Wongopasi said: “The players are looking forward to the game with Cambodia. We still believe in every player and want them to play their natural game.
“They are all experienced players and it is only a matter of dealing with pressure effectively. They weren’t able to perform to their potential in the first two matches because they couldn’t handle the pressure.”
Meanwhile, the Thai women’s team also had a long training session for tonight’s match against Malaysia at UIMT stadium in Shah Alam at 7.45pm.
Thailand will be without Kanjana Sang-ngoen, who has been ruled out of action for at least six weeks, after sustaining a knee injury.
Coach Spencer Prior had the team practise scoring and free-kicks yesterday.
He said: “It is important for us to win the match against Malaysia and that is why we concentrated on practising attacks in the training.”
PROBABLE THAI MEN’S TEAM
Goalkeepers: Nont Muangngarm Defenders: Worawut Namvech, Saringkarn Promsupa, Rattanakorn Maikami and Suriya Singmui
Midfielders: Chaowat Veerachart, Phittiwat Sookjitthummakul, Chaiyawat Buran, Phicha Au-Tra and Worachit Kanitsribumphen Forwards: Chenrop Samphaodi