Striker Chatree set to sharpen Thailand attack
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Thailand coach Winfried Schaefer is planning to experiment with his lineup in attack against North Korea today, in the third-place playoff for the 42nd King's Cup in Chiang Mai.
The Thai side failed to reclaim the prestigious title after a brace from former Chelsea striker Mikael Forssell condemned them to a 3-1 loss to Finland on Wednesday. North Korea narrowly missed out on a place in the final after the communist nation suffered a penalty shootout defeat against Sweden.
The 62-year-old Schaefer will be keen to avoid a repeat of last year’s effort, when Thailand finished in bottom place in his first King’s Cup in charge.
The German trainer is seeking to fill the void left by the absence of striker Teerasil Dangda, who is still in Spain on a trial with Atletico Madrid. The inform Muang Thong United player was top scorer at the recent Asean Championship with five goals.
“North Korea have a solid defence, while we have a problem with finishing. That usually happens when we don’t have Teerasil in the team. Our strikers must not waste their chances,” said Schaefer.
“I’m considering handing Chatree Chimtalay a run from the start against the Koreans. In other positions, I will use most of the players from the side that lost to Finland. If we play like we did in the first game, we have a chance of a win.”
Given that the Thais gave away two goals in the first 15 minutes against the Finnish, Schaefer said concentration would be the key for the Korean game at the 700th Anniversary stadium.
“The most important thing is we have to keep our focus throughout the game. We didn’t start well against Finland but we now have to move on.”
