The draw for the 2024 AFF Cup has put Thailand in Group A with Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and the winner of the qualifying round between Timor Leste and Brunei. This is a group that is considered much "easier" than Group B with Vietnam and opponents Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Laos.
Coach Masatada Ishii answers the press conference after the AFF Cup 2024 draw (Photo: Manh Quan).
Evaluating the results of the AFF Cup 2024 group stage draw, coach Masatada Ishii of the Thai team said: "At this time, our top priority is the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, not the AFF Cup. I have not studied the Vietnamese team carefully, so this is not the time to comment on them.
I don't care how many Korean or Japanese coaches there are in Southeast Asia, the important thing is that football in the region is developing. I hope that many fans come to watch this tournament. That's the important thing."
When asked about his colleague Kim Sang Sik of the Vietnamese team, the Japanese coach said: "I don't want to talk much about coach Kim Sang Sik, because when a team changes coaches, there will be positive things and also bad things. I have never faced Kim Sang Sik so I don't know much about his tactics.
We are friends and respect each other. When we came here, we just took pictures together and didn't talk about football."
Thailand is in Group A with Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and the winning team in the qualifying round (Photo: Manh Quan).
Talking about the competition for the 2024 AFF Cup championship, the head coach of the Thai team expressed concern about the development of Indonesian football.
"Thailand and Vietnam are both strong teams in the region, but it must be said that Indonesia has made great progress in recent times. They have reached another level and will continue to develop, not stop," coach Masatada Ishii concluded.
As for coach Kim Sang Sik, this strategist mentioned the successes of his predecessor Park Hang Seo as an encouragement for the Vietnamese team.
"Coach Park Hang Seo has achieved very good results and is a hero of Vietnamese football. I respect and admire Mr. Park very much. For Vietnamese football and for Vietnamese fans, I will try my best and also ask for advice from Coach Park when needed to create the best team possible. All teams have goals and fight with all their might for the goal.
No team is an easy opponent but there is no team that we have absolutely no chance of winning. We try to advance to the final and get good results," said coach Kim.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-thai-lan-lo-ngai-indonesia-tu-choi-nhan-xet-ve-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-20240521164336399.htm
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