Down and out Thailand to take on Lebanon
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Thailand's football players have to look elsewhere for motivation after the Football Association of Thailand said there was no incentive in the meaningless Asian Cup qualifying match against Lebanon at the Rajamangala National Stadium tomorrow.
Lying at the bottom of Group B, the Thai side are already out of contention for a berth in the Asian Cup finals in Australia next year after a disastrous campaign which saw them lose all their previous five matches.
The final group match against Lebanon, whose qualifying hopes were also extinguished, will be Kiatisak “Zico” Senamuang’s first game in charge of the team after succeeding fellow former national player Surachai Jaturapattarapong last month.
Even though the match is nothing more than a dead rubber, Worawi Makudi, who is yet to officially assume his role as the FAT president despite winning the election in October, wants to see the Thais finish the campaign on a high.
“I told the team to play to the maximum because it’s our last game. We have no points from the previous five games so we need to try to get some points on the board.”
Worawi, however, believes that the lack of any incentive would not affect the performance of the team. The Thai FA boss further revealed that the association failed to change the kick-off time of the match, which is scheduled for 9pm, as it was set by the Asian soccer governing body, the Asian Football Confederation.
The 40-year-old Kiatisak, who steered Thailand to their SEA Games triumph in Myanmar in December, said his players would take the Lebanon match seriously to improve the country’s place, currently at a lowly 147, in the world rankings.
“We can’t take the game lightly even though there is nothing riding on it. But, as far as the world rankings is concerned, there’re points at stake. So, we need to give it our all to restore the faith of the fans and help the country become the No 1 nation in Asean again,” he said.
