Thais bullish about beating Malaysia in opener

Once regarded as the region’s soccer kings, the Kingdom’s pride was severely dented at the previous Games in Laos where they were sent packing early following a streak of eight consecutive title wins.
The elimination sparked uproar back home as it was the first time in 36 years that the country had failed to reach the knockout stages of the biennial competition.
The Laos debacle marked the beginning of a nightmare period for Thai soccer in which the team also suffered an early exit from the ASEAN Championship last year after failing to win a single game.
The country’s fortunes have significantly improved of late following the arrival of veteran coach Winfried Schaefer in July. Though the German is not in charge of the under23 SEA Games squad, the feelgood factor around the Thai team after strong results in the World Cup qualifying campaign has created optimism over the team’s chances of winning glory in Jakarta.
Thailand received good news on the eve of their first group match when Sriracha FC defender Sujarit Jantakul was able to join team training for the first time since arriving in Indonesia.
Team coach Prapol Pongpanich was confident his charges can launch their campaign with a win against the Malaysians, who already have a point from a goalless draw with Singapore in their first game.
“I already have the team for tomorrow’s game in mind. But I still have to decide who will partner Ronnachai [Rangsiyo] up front. I’m confident we will take maximum points. I think it could be 30,” said the former Bangkok United coach.
Kasem Jariyawatwong, the team manager, confirmed morale in the camp was good as the players had put concerns about the flooding situation on the back burner to focus on the job at hand.
“Even though some of the players are themselves flood victims, they know they have a job to do here. Everyone now wants to win the game for Thai people,” said Kasem.
Channel 3 will televise the match live from 4pm.