Myanmar will pose tough test, says Kiatisak
Thailand’s coach Kiatisak Senamuang said the country’s title credentials will be tested when they play Myanmar over two legs in the semi-finals of the Asean Championship next month.
The four-time champions qualified as the Group A winners with a perfect record. Myanmar, meanwhile, needed David Htan’s dramatic 89th-minute winner in their final match at Thuwanna Stadium in Yangon on Saturday evening against 2014 finalists Malaysia and emerge as the runners-up in group B.
Thailand’s title defence has so far been solid, if unspectacular, with laboured wins over Indonesia and Singapore before a second-string line-up achieved a hat-trick of victories against the Philippines. They will first visit Myanmar, with the first leg semi-final scheduled for December 4 and the return fixture four days later.
Kiatisak admitted his side cannot underestimate Myanmar that reached the semi-finals for the first time since 2004 after edging Malaysia, with whom they were tied on three points before the final group game, to the runners-up spot with a 1-0 victory.
“It’s a tough job for us. This Myanmar squad is really fit and strong physically. The team is a mixture of old guard and young players who played at the Under-20 World Cup in 2015.
“They have good pace up front and look dangerous on both flanks. We also have to keep a close eye on their striker Aung Thu. The support from the home crowd fires them up.
“We need to have a good preparation. We have to be extremely fit. We are having a training camp at Kirin Valley right away. We cannot lose focus even for a second. We could be punished. We saw it during the Myanmar-Malaysia match,” said the 43-year-old coach, who steered the country to title triumph two years ago.
