The Thais' win-loss record slipped to 2-2 but they had already qualified for the second round and won many new fans for this battling display full of dynamic digs and defence and punishing spikes from their whirlwind attackers.

A team of bird's nest collectors from southern Thailand put their generations-old rock climbing know-how to use on Thursday by scouring a mountainside for openings that could lead to 12 young footballers and their coach trapped inside a flooded cave.