War Elephants out, Chaba Kaew survive
As the results in other groups sent Thailand tumbling out of the 2018 Asian Games men’s football competition, national governing body chief Pol Gen Somyot Poompunmuang yesterday rejected public criticism of the side as immaterial.
The War Elaphants finished third in Group B with only two points from draws against Qatar and Bangladesh. They lost their last game 1-0 to reigning Asian U23 champions Uzbekistan on Sunday night.
Under the tournament rules, the top two teams from six groups and four best thirdplaced teams qualify for the last 16 stage.
Thailand were knocked out of contention after North Korea defeated Saudi Arabia 3-0 and Myanmar upstaged Iran 2-0 to earn themselves four points.
Their female compatriots had a great escape as they rode the coattails of other sides, making it to the quarter-finals of the women’s tournament despite their failure to claim a single point from their two Group A matches.
The Chaba Kaew were beaten 2-0 by Japan and 3-2 by Vietnam as they ended at the bottom of their group.
They were lucky that there were only three teams in their group and the Thais found themselves among the two best third-placed sides when China fired 16 unanswered goals past Tajikistan and North Korea routed Hong Kong 8-0 yesterday.
Meanwhile, Somyot, president of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), rejected calls to sack men’s team coach Worrawoot Srimaka.
“The FAT does not listen to such criticism. We can’t change the coach every time the team’s results fail to meet our expectations,” said Somyot.
“No player or coach wants his team to lose. If someone has a personal axe to grind, then it is a different matter. The FAT will make the decision on the basis of logic and the fans should be logical, too.”
Somyot added: “People had high hopes but we have to accept the result. Other teams also fail. Look at Germany in the World Cup.
“I don’t have any excuses but the fact is that we were worried from the beginning because of a limited preparation and the injuries to key players.”