Thailand's soccer team coach Winfried Schaefer wants to see more of the same from his players as they bid to clinch a semifinal spot with a win over Myanmar in their second Group A match of the Asean Championship today.
Three-time champions Thailand top the standings with three points from their 2-1 victory over the Philippines, two ahead of Myanmar who earned a creditable point in a 1-1 draw with 2008 champions Vietnam. That leaves the Thai side one win from securing a spot in the last four of the eight-team competition, having suffered a premature exit two years ago.
The 62-year-old German trainer said the win against the Philippines thanks to firsthalf strikes from Jakkraphan Pornsai and Anucha Kitpongsri had boosted his team's confidence dramatically. But he warned against complacency ahead of the clash with Myanmar, who had to prequalify for the biennial event due to their low ranking.
"The win over the Filipinos left our players brimming with confidence. We were very impressive, particularly in our attacking play. The movement, onetwo and quick passing meant the ball kept moving. That's the reason we created so many openings.
"[But] we cannot underestimate Burma [Myanmar]. From their first game, we could see that their players are strong, physically. There was no question about the fitness of Burmese players either. They kept pressing for the ball for the entire match against the Vietnamese.
"We need to win to guarantee we qualify for the semifinals. It will not be easy against Myanmar. They are definitely not a 'small' team. People who say that have no experience with football. Football in the Asean region is not easy - many countries are playing better than before," said Schaefer, in the second year of his threeyear contract.
The German pinpointed Myanmar's speed on the break as a serious threat to his team - whose last Asean Championship triumph came in the 2002 - and identified Yangon United's star midfielder Kyi Lin as the player to watch.
"We need to be mindful of their counterattacking threat since they have players such as Kyi Lin who is strong and fast, so we must be very careful. If we want to stop this player, we have to stop him getting the ball."
Despite the Thais' disappointing record against Myanmar, with only one win and three draws from their previous four meeting in the tournament, Schaefer is confident his charges will come out on top this time.
"We'll take the game to them as usual but our passing needs to be faster, because Burmese players get to the ball quicker than the Filipinos. We will have to put on the same powerful display as we did against Philippines. The team is ready for this - the spirit is very, very high."
Schaefer has a major doubt in key midfielder Datsakorn Thonglao after the Muang Thong United player suffered a recurrence of his groin injury in the Philippines fixture on Saturday. Should he fail the fitness test, the German said either Sumanya Purisai or Pipob Onmo would take his place against Myanmar at Rajamangala National Stadium.
Channel 7 has the match live from 8.20pm tonight.
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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2012/11/27/thais-one-win-away-from-semis/
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