Coach Ishii points out the fatal weakness of the Thai team

Thailand hard

Playing at home at Rajamangala Stadium and facing a severely depleted Malaysian team, Thailand had a tough match. After more than 90 minutes, coach Masatada Ishii and his team held the ball for 52% of the time, fired 15 shots but only 3 were on target. It was only thanks to a mistake by goalkeeper Haziq Nadzli in the 57th minute that the "War Elephants" were able to find the opening goal. The player who scored for Thailand was Patrik Gustavsson after a favorable pass from Suphanat Mueanta. This was also the only goal in the great battle between Thailand and Malaysia, helping the home team win all 3 points.

Patrik Gustavsson scored the only goal, helping Thailand defeat Malaysia

Although Thailand's victory was not really convincing, coach Masatada Ishii still seemed satisfied. In the post-match press conference, he commented: "Having 3 points makes me happy. All the players tried and played their best. Whether they were in the starting lineup or coming off the bench, they all did very well. In addition, playing at home is a huge advantage. Without the fans, we would not have won. I know Thai fans expected a better performance, but for me, winning is the most important factor."

The Japanese coach also pointed out what his team needed to improve after the match against Malaysia: “I think the Thai team’s attacking style is not good enough. We need to fix our approach right after this match. In the match against Malaysia, I arranged three players in midfield to play close together, helping Thailand control the ball, thereby opening up scoring opportunities. However, I think all three had too few touches of the ball.”

Coach Masatada Ishii satisfied with the minimal victory of the Thai team

.

On the other side, coach Pau Marti said he was still proud of his players' performance despite the 0-1 loss. He shared: "I am very happy because the players played well. I believe that, if Malaysia were lucky, they could have finished the match with a better result. We had a difficult time last week.

Compared to previous matches, the Malaysian team has improved a lot in the match against Thailand. From there, we are confident that we can play well in the next matches, this is important. In the last match of the group stage against Singapore (December 20), if Malaysia enters the match with the same spirit as the match against Thailand, we will definitely win 3 points to enter the semi-finals."

Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 is broadcast live and in full on FPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/aff-cup-2024-hlv-ishii-chi-thang-diem-yeu-chi-mang-cua-doi-tuyen-thai-lan-185241214222936323.htm