Thais hit by training woes ahead of Indonesia showdown
Having secured passage into the last-16 round of the men's soccer competition in the Asian Games, Thailand will ask hosts South Korea for a new training pitch that is closer to the athlete's village.
The Thai side, whose best result so far in the quadrennial tournament is fourth spot in 1990, 1998, 2002, ensured qualification for the knock-out rounds after beating Timor Leste 3-0 on Thursday.
It was the Thais’ second straight victory in Group E, following their 2-0 win over Maldives, and kept them in second spot in the table, behind leaders Indonesia on goal difference. The leading pair will meet on Monday to decide which side advances as group winners.
A more pressing concern for the Thais, though, is their training pitch, which is situated so far from the athlete’s village that the team had to cancel training on the eve of both group matches.
“The training ground is 25 kilometres away and takes more than an hour to get to due to the heavy traffic. We want to train at another ground, because every time we finish training, players show clear signs of fatigue,” said national coach Kiatisak Senamuang.
The 41-year-old former national striker said that despite having qualified for the next round, his charges would play for a win against the Indonesians, who top the standings with 11 goals without conceding in two games.
“We’ve already achieved our target by qualifying for the last-16 round, but we have no option but to go for the win in our last game against Indonesia. If we clinch top spot we would face either China or Pakistan in the next round. However, should we end up in second, we would encounter North Korea, who have been very strong in the first round.
“We need to show no fear in the round of 16, as all the qualified teams are strong. But we’ll try to claim a win against the Indonesians anyway since national pride is at stake. I know they also want to beat us, even though a draw would be enough for them to clinch top spot.
“At the SEA Games in Myanmar, they lost to us twice, including in the final, so, they will certainly come at us,” said Kiatisak, referring to his side’s SEA Games triumph at the end of last year.
