Hungry Thais eye better result in last battle
The Thai U23 team go into their last game of the AFC U23 Championship against Palestine today desperate to avoid the ignominy of an empty-handed return from China.
After two successive losses, the War Elephants are already out of the running for a place in quarter-finals of the biennial tournament.
Thailand are at the bottom of Group B table after losing to North Korea and Japan with both matches ending in 1-0 defeats.
Defending champions Japan lead the group standings with six points, followed by North Korea (three) and Palestine (one).
The fact that the two other Southeast Asian countries in the tournament, Vietnam and Malaysia, already have points to their credit in their respective groups is making the Thais even hungrier to at least produce a draw against Palestine today.
The match at Changzhou Olympic Sport Centre will kick off at 3pm (Thai time).
Thailand U23 team coach Zoran Jankovic said his men are eager to end their campaign on a high note.
“It’s going to be difficult,” said the coach.
“However, I expect us to perform against Palestine.”
He acknowledged the quality of Palestine and despite missing several crucial squad members, he remained positive about Thailand’s chances.
“All the teams here are of high level. We are missing some key players here, but we are still hopeful and expect to score against them,” he said.
Worrawoot Srimaka, assistant coach of the Thai U23 team, added: “We will try to get a point at least. We want to win because the other Asean teams have got points. We have to get a point to avoid criticism at home.”
Palestine coach Ayman Sandouqa has also been busy plotting a coup against the Thais, which would earn his team an outside chance of reaching the quarter-finals.
However, he knows that the road ahead is not easy.
“Our game against them [Thailand] won’t be easy,” admitted Sandouqa.
“We will fix our mistakes and overcome the problems we had in the earlier matches.
“We will enter the match looking for the win.”