Uzbekistan stand in way of Thailand for U-20 WCup berth
Former national player and coach Sasom Pobprasert has promised to lead his players to the promised land of the U-20 World Cup as Thailand lock horns with Uzbekistan in the quarter-final tie of the Asian Under-19 Championship in Myanmar today.
The Thais are guaranteed one of the four berths available at next year’s finals in New Zealand if they move past Uzbekistan at the Youth Training Centre stadium in Yangon.
Having watched his young players snatch a last-gasp winner in the thrilling 3-2 victory over Yemen in their final group match, which saw them qualify as group winners, Sasom believes there is no reason why his side cannot pull off a historic win against Uzbekistan.
“I hope this team will succeed. We want to return happiness to Thai people by qualifying for the World Cup finals. We need to be at our best, everything has to come together tomorrow. We need some luck as well.
“We’re now getting close to a World Cup place. … If we don’t make it today, who knows how long before we get another chance. I can only say that we will do everything we can to become one of the four Asian sides at the World Cup,” said Sasom.
The Thai coach admitted Uzbekistan, who finished third at the previous edition, were a daunting team but identified a weakness in defence.
“They’re a strong team, whose players have pace and strength. They barely have a weak spot but the full-backs are not as strong as players in other positions. So we will try to exploit the area on both flanks, making good use of our agility.
“We need to stay focused on our defence throughout the game as well. Everyone needs to help each other, otherwise we can’t beat them.”
Channel 7 will televise the match live from 7.30pm.
