Lots of money - but no honey

Though the Thai team lie at the bottom of the Group D table prior to the final of round of fixtures, they are still in with a chance of qualifying for the last-10 team stage. But the manner in which they have prepared for the crunch match suggests they are already resigned to exiting the competition.

With four points from five matches, Thailand need to beat third-placed Oman in Muscat and hope second-placed Saudi Arabia, two points ahead of them, come away with nothing from their trip to already-qualified Australia. That scenario would send Schaefer’s men through to the next round as runners-up.

There is a strong likelihood that fallen giants Saudi Arabia – who have so far endured a poor qualifying campaign with only one win – will lose against an Australian team that beat them 3-1 in Riyadh in September. But much less certain is whether the Thais can pounce on the chance if it arises.

It seems that only German coach Schaefer, who can take much of the credit for helping the Thais stay in contention, really believes his charges can succeed in snatching the remaining qualifying spot by completing a double over Oman. The 62-year-old, who took over the post in July just before the Thais embarked on their qualifying campaign, has cut a lone figure in preparing the team for what is viewed as the country’s biggest match for years.

Schaefer’s work was initially hindered by the Football Association of Thailand’s decision to extend the training camp in Chiang Mai when a trip to the United Arab Emirates was cancelled after the failure to secure a friendly with the Middle East team. The short UAE training stint would have been a useful in getting the Thais acclimatised to the desert conditions.

If the decision to stay in Chiang Mai seemed understandable, the Thai FA’s move to bring in lowly Maldives as a replacement for a tune-up raised a question.

 Thailand duly won the game 3-0 on Friday, but fans were left wondering why the warm-up hadn’t been arranged against a side with a similar style to the one they will face in their competitive match. With all due respect to Maldives, what made the Thai FA believe that Schaefer’s men could gain valuable lessons for the Oman test against a side languishing 166th in the world ranking? Despite staying at home, it would not have been so difficult to find Middle-East opponents for a game – Jordan and Kuwait.

Should the Thais lose on Wednesday, questions will need to be asked as to why the FAT failed to pick either one of those two teams for a tune-up ahead of the Oman match. If the cost of holding a training camp in Middle East outweighed the benefit Schaefer’s men stood to gain, then inviting an Arab side to play a game in the country surely would have made economical sense.

But given the FAT’s healthy financial status, a training trip abroad should be no problem. The Thai FA is by far the country’s best-supported association in terms of sponsorship, with Chang beer-maker ThaiBev having just announced they are extending their support for another two years in a deal worth Bt60 million.

If the Thai side ends up failing to make it through, it won’t be too difficult to identify who is to blame for another failed campaign.