Coach Kiatisak leaves World Cup preparations to tech director

The qualifying lineup was completed on Tuesday when Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Australia, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Syria and China joined Japan, South Korea, Qatar and Thailand,  who booked their berths earlier, in the last 12-team round.

The teams will be split into two groups of six, with Thailand in pot six for the draw to be made on April 12. The top two from each section will qualify directly for the finals in Russia in two years’ time, while third-placed teams face off for berth at the intercontinental playoff where World Cup ticket is at stake.

Kiatisak said he had no qualms in allowing Withaya to plan ahead since the country is making only its second appearance in the last-12 stage.

“We all know how to prepare [for the next qualifying round] but I will ask the technical director and the FA board members to figure out what we should do in order to reach the World Cup. That includes the teams we should be playing in the warmup games leading to the tournament.

“We need to prepare the team as best as possible, not just in terms of the players but also the food, accommodation and travel. The president [of the Football Association of Thailand] himself said the national team should just have to train and then simply stroll onto the plane. Hopefully, it will be just like that,” said the former national striker.