Chananan injury leaves Thailand with only one attacker
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Thailand football coach Kiatisak Senamuang was left cursing his luck after it was confirmed that Chananan Pombubpha will miss the rest of the Asian Games due to the injury he sustained while celebrating his opening goal in the 6-0 romp over Indonesia.
Thailand ended the group campaign in emphatic fashion on Monday by crushing Indonesia to clinch the top spot with a perfect record. It meant the Thai side, who are yet to concede a goal, qualified for the last-16 stage for the second successive Games.
Thailand will next face China, who finished as Group F runners-up, in the last-16 tie tomorrow. The Thai squad features nine players who pulled off a stunning 5-1 win away to China last June. Should they manage to repeat the feat at Ansan Wa stadium, they would take a step closer to achieving a target of matching their best result so far at the Games, a fourth spot.
However, the Thais were left counting the cost of the Indonesia win, which saw Chananan twist his knee when he landed awkwardly after leaping up to celebrate his strike. The Osotsapa forward, who left the field on the stretcher, faces up to five months on the sidelines.
Deprived of Chananan’s services up front, the 41-year-old Kiatisak acknowledged that his side faced a tough task against the Chinese this time – though his memory of the friendly win last year was hazy.
“It will be a stern test against China. We beat them 4-1 [5-1] before, and Chinese reporters tried to ask me whether we have the retained same side, but I didn’t say anything because we won’t underestimate them.
“We have three more days to rest before we play in the first knockout round. I hope everyone can maintain his condition. It definitely won’t be easy against the Chinese. We will take it step by step,” said Kiatisak, who made his bow as national coach against China last year.
The former national striker admitted to concern after the loss of Chananan left him with Adisak Kraisorn as the squad’s lone striker.
“It definitely gives me a headache having Adisak as our only option. However, Pakorn Parmpak and Pinyo Inpinit can play as forwards. So they should be able to more or less fill the hole caused by Chananan’s absence.”
Thailand’s 6-0 win over Indonesia equalled their biggest victory at the Games and helped them to a perfect group-stage record for the fourth time, after similar success in 1998, 2002 and 2006.
Meanwhile, the Thai women’s soccer team will meet old foes Vietnam in the quarter-finals on Friday after the Vietnamese beat Hong Kong to qualify as Group B runners-up.
