Thailand coach was shocked when Singapore led 2-0, but thank God…

"At first, I was shocked and surprised that the Singapore team scored two goals, and they were both very beautiful and spectacular goals. We tried to figure out what happened. Especially during the break. Obviously, we had some problems, both in attack and defense, which created opportunities for the Singapore team to score goals," coach Masatada Ishii said at a press conference after the match between Thailand and Singapore in Group A of the 2024 AFF Cup (ASEAN Championship), on December 17.

Coach Masatada Ishii in a friendly match between Thailand and Vietnam in September.

The Japanese coach also revealed that he decided to let the players on the field adjust their playing style, after showing them the mistakes between the unreasonable formation distances in attack and defense, allowing the Singaporean players to exploit and score.

"We have a lot of young players who are still maturing, and they have learned very quickly from their mistakes. They have asserted themselves, finding ways to change their playing style appropriately. In the second half, thank God, we turned things around and completely controlled the match," coach Masatada Ishii emphasized.

In the match against Singapore, although the Thai players started well and controlled the game, they unexpectedly let their opponents take a 2-0 lead with two beautiful goals from Shawal and Faris in the 10th and 34th minutes. At the end of the first half, Gustavsson shortened the score to 1-2 for the "War Elephants" in the 45+3 minute. In the second half, player Suphanat Mueanta shone brightly when he scored the equalizer at 2-2 in the 52nd minute, before contributing assists to the remaining 2 goals in the extra minutes for Peeradon Chamratsamee and Teerasak to score in the 90+3 and 90+15 minutes to win the score 4-2.

"The Thai team will not participate in the 2026 World Cup. We were eliminated early in the second qualifying round of the Asian region. Therefore, at this AFF Cup, I proactively used as many young players as possible. Thereby, to prepare for the 2030 World Cup.

The young players of Thailand are trying very hard, they are thinking further to the goal of the next World Cup. Up to now, I am very satisfied with the efforts of the whole team. We have reached the semi-finals early, but I am only thinking about the next match. I will definitely make changes to the squad, so that the remaining players have a chance to compete," coach Masatada Ishii shared more.

With Ekanit Panya, the Thai team's attack will be very strong. Next to him is Suphachok Sarachat, who plays very talentedly.

So far, the Thai team has often used many young players in the 3 group stage matches such as Suphanat Mueanta, only 22 years old, who has scored 3 goals and has been voted the best player of the match twice. Strikers Patrik Gustavsson (23 years old) and Teerasak Poeiphimai (22 years old) have also scored 3 goals.

While the two best stars, Ekanit Panya (25 years old) and Supachok Sarachat (26 years old), are still not playing, because they need to recover physically after the season in Japan. In the semi-finals, they will have the opportunity to compete, according to coach Masatada Ishii.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/aff-cup-hlv-thai-lan-rat-soc-khi-bi-singapore-dan-den-2-0-nhung-on-troi-185241217235629366.htm