Baptism of fire for Surachai in Iran
Play
The Asian Cup qualifiers are only at the halfway point and Thailand's hopes of going forward could be extinguished if they fail to come away with a positive result against regional powerhouse Iran today.
After two of the six qualifying matches, the Thai side are yet to get off the mark, losing all their games so far, which left them rooted at the bottom of Group B, which includes Kuwait and Lebanon. Another setback in Tehran could potentially spell an end to their campaign.
The first of back-to-back fixtures against pacesetters Iran at Azadi Stadium is coach Surachai Jaturapattarapong’s first competitive game in charge of the Thai team since being appointed in August in place of German veteran Winfried Schaefer.
The Iran match, which is expected to be played in front of a capacity crowd of nearly 100,000 fans, will no doubt be a baptism of fire for former national player Surachai, who served as assistant to Schaefer during the early days of the German’s reign.
The Iranians, who cemented a place in the Fifa World Cup 2014 in June, are unbeaten in their AFC Asian Cup 2015 qualifiers so far. They thrashed Lebanon 5-0 and were held 1-1 by Kuwait in their previous two matches.
Surachai, though, could take heart from his side’s performance in a 1-0 friendly win over Bahrain thanks to Chatree Chimtalay’s second-half goal on Thursday before they left for Tehran. The Thai coach was optimistic that his men would be able to claim at least a draw against an Iranian side coached by former Portugal manager Carlos Queiroz.
“We have been studying Iran’s performances. I don’t think they would play as fast as Bahrain. But their strength lies in their lethal finishing, so we must give maximum attention to our defending. I fancy my side to take a point because the players are determined.
“The senior players are helping out the younger ones very well and the newcomers have a strong desire to play for the team,” said the 43-year-old Surachai, who added that he would field almost the same side that beat Bahrain in today’s fixture.
Thailand have never defeated Iran in their previous 12 meetings, drawing three, losing nine and scoring just four goals. The last time the two teams met was also in an Asian Cup qualifying match at Azadi Stadium, when the Thais lost 1-0 three years ago.
TrueVisions’ Truesport2 channel will televise the match live from 10pm.
