Futsal coach hails fighting Thais but eyes exit

Rodrigo’s side qualified from the first phase as Group B runners-up to match their best result in the 24-team tournament. However, they were unable to avoid the fate that befell them four years ago at home despite pushing the Azerbaijanis all the way in their encounter at the Ivan de Bedout Coliseum. 

A seesaw match saw the lead change hands four times before Jetsada Chudech came to Thailand’s rescue to level the score at 7-7 with a late freekick, which forced extra time after 40 minutes of regulation play.

But the Thais fell behind early in the extra 10 minutes, and things went downhill from the moment Suphawut Thueanklang spurned a golden chance to pull his side level with a penalty less than a minute later. The Azerbaijanis, ranked two places above Thailand at 10th, surged ahead to prevail 13-8 at the final whistle.  Despite exiting the tournament twice in a row at the same stage, the 46-year-old Spanish coach insisted his men would return home with heads held high.

“We have nothing to regret. We didn’t lose a game in normal time. We all did great job as we fought tooth and nail until the end.  

“I’m really proud of every single player despite the fact that we’ve been together for only two and a half months. Trust me, I feel more proud with our work than [with] the seven-year stint I spent with Japan. They fought their hearts out.

“I don’t know what the future holds for me, I’m not sure whether to stay on in the job. However, the impressions they [Thai players] made on me will live long in my memory.” 

Head of national futsal development Adisak Benjasiriwan backed Rodrigo’s words. 

“I would like to apologise to our fans for failing to achieve our target, which was to reach our first quarterfinal. But I’m so proud of all of our players. We were clearly not inferior to them [Azerbaijan]. We just failed to take our chances.”