Thailand raring to take on Singapore in AFF U-23 Championship
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Thailand are one of the title favourites in the AFF U-23 Championship although they have chosen to field a pretty young squad. They have been placed in Group C along with Singapore and Vietnam. Thailand's head coach Salvador Valero Garcia, the interim U-23 coach, has selected most of the players from the U-19 squad barring defender Anusak Jaiphet and forward Teerasak Poelphimai.
The team had been training at the Phatthana Golf Club and Resort in the Chonburi province and played a friendly against Kasetsatsat FC, a Thai League 2 side. However, the War Elephants lost 3-2 even after taking a 2-0 lead.
Teerasak will be a key player in attack as the young forward has pace and is clinical in front of goal. He was a key player in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers where Thailand remained unbeaten and sealed a spot in the final stage of the competition which will be held in June 2022 in Uzbekistan. If his partnership with midfielder Sattawas Leela blossoms in the attacking third then the opposition defence will have their hands full. Moreover, Leela's piledrivers and accurate set-piece deliveries make him even more lethal.
THAILAND U23 RECENT RESULTS
Date | Match | Competition |
|---|---|---|
October 25, 2021 | Thailand 1-1 Mongolia | 2022 AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualification |
October 28, 2021 | Laos 0-3 Thailand | 2022 AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualification |
October 31, 2021 | Thailand 0-0 Malaysia | 2022 AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualification |
Meanwhile, Singapore has been training under coach Nazri Nasir since February 1. The tactician has not made many changes to the squad that participated in the AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers.
“The bulk of the squad participated in last year’s Asian Football Confederation U23 Asian Cup qualifiers and I believe the experience of going up against regional opponents have made the players more mature and they now know what is required at the international level,” Nasri stated after announcing the provisional squad.
They could not qualify for the finals as they finished second in the group behind Asian giants South Korea. However, they went up against familiar foes in Philippines and Timor Leste, the two opponents whom they might face once again in this tournament provided all the parties qualify for the knockouts.
SINGAPORE U23 RECENT RESULTS
Date | Match | Competition |
|---|---|---|
October 25,, 2021 | Singapore 2-2 Timor Leste | 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualification |
October 28, 2021 | Philippines 0-1 Singapore | 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualification |
October 31, 2021 | South Korea 5-1 Singapore | 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualification |
After facing Thailand in their campaign opener, they will clash against Vietnam on February 19 at the Prince Stadium in Phnom Penh.
Group C Table
| Position | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thailand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2 | Vietnam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Singapore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |