Thailand's futsal team came up short of producing what would have been a massive upset following a comprehensive 7-1 loss to two-time world champions Spain in the last-16 tie of the Futsal World Cup at the Nimibutr stadium yesterday.
The Thai side became the beneficiaries of the biggest upset of the tournament so far following unfancied Solomon Islands' surprise 4-3 win over Guatemala on the final day of the group stage on Friday, that helped them qualifying as one of the best third-placed teams.
Coming up against the Spaniards in their first ever appearance in the knockout phase of the Cup finals, the hosts ironically needed to produce the upset of even bigger scale than that of the Oceania side's if they were to continue their run in the 24-team competition.
The European team, who have not failed to reach the semifinals in five successive editions of the tournament, possibly would have been the last along with four-time champions Brazil that the Thais, who suffered premature exit in their previous three campaigns, would like to face in the last 16 round.
The hosts' chances depended much on how they coped with the Spanish's potency in attack, which saw them plunder 15 goals in three Group B matches. However, it looked grim as the Thais gave away a total of eight goals in the first half alone that cost them dearly in two group stage losses against Ukraine (5-3) and Paraguay (3-2).
Despite all the odds stacking against them, the Thais roared on by a partisan crowd acquitted themselves well against the side currently sitting atop the world's rankings. Even so, they still found themselves two goals behind.
After a close contest in the early stages of the second half, the visitors then ran riot, scoring five more goals including three in space of five minutes. Kritsada Wongkaeo scored a consolation goal for the Thai team in the dying minutes, sparking a huge roar from the home support.
Coach Victor Hermans, who led the Thais to the runners-up spot in the Asian Championship earlier this year, said the scoreline reflected the gaping difference in quality between the two sides.
"It showed the difference between the two sides. For the first goal they scored, it came from the break after our corner kick. In the first half, we had many chances but failed to take any of them. Against the team with quality of Spain, we must grab it.
"In the second half, we didn't play as we trained. This squad still lacked experience but had potentials to grow further. They're now better than when they came second in the Asian Championships. We'll keep improving," said Hermans
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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2012/11/12/thailand-eliminated-in-the-last-16/
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