King's Cup 2024 creates ticket fever, Madam Pang hopes the Thai team breaks the curse

The 2024 King's Cup will be held from October 11 to 14 at Tinsulanon Stadium (Thailand). Compared to last year, the 2024 King's Cup's guest lineup is not as good. In addition to Syria (ranked 93rd in the world), which has a pretty good squad and is the main opponent of the Thai team, the other two guests, Tajikistan (ranked 99th in the world) and the Philippines (ranked 148), are not rated too highly.

According to the schedule, in the first round of matches on October 11, the Syrian team will face Tajikistan and the Thai team will face the Philippines. The two winning teams will meet in the final, while the two losing teams will play for third place (October 14).

King's Cup 2024 Match Schedule

Siamsport newspaper assessed that King's Cup 2024 will be an important tournament for the Thai team at the end of the year. Although it is only a friendly tournament, this is a traditional tournament for Thailand, and fans really want the home team to win the championship. In addition, Coach Ishii also sees this as one of the good opportunities for him to test tactics, perfecting the preparation for the AFF Cup 2024.

"In the 50th King's Cup, my goal is to win both matches and become the champion of this tournament. I want to see the players show their full potential to win. After failing to advance in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, we will focus on preparing for the AFF Cup championship at the end of the year," coach Ishii assessed.

To prepare for the tournament, the Japanese coach has called up a very strong squad. Outstanding players such as Ekanit Panya, Supachok Sarachat (playing in Japan), Suphanat Muenta (playing in Belgium), Supachai, Patrik Gustavsson, Nicholas Mickelson, Elias Dola are all present. Notably, star midfielder Chanathip Songkrasin has returned to the "War Elephants" squad. Previously, when the Thai team participated in a friendly tournament in Vietnam (September 2024), Chanathip Songkrasin was absent.

Midfielder Supachok and two veterans, Theerathon Bunmathan and Dangda, are the players that Thai fans regret the most for not being present. Supachok was injured while playing for Consadole Sapporo (Japan) and did not recover in time. Meanwhile, Theerathon Bunmathan and Dangda also had health problems. In addition to these players, striker Patrik Gustavsson was replaced by Prames Achwilai.

Coach Ishii brings a very strong squad to the King's Cup

On October 8, Ms. Nualphan Lamsam (also known as Madam Pang) - President of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) personally thanked the affection that fans have for the players. She also hopes that when the King's Cup 2024 is moved, the Thai team will "break the curse" of losing two consecutive finals.

Madam Pang shared: “In the last two King's Cups, I was the manager of the Thai team. We both played in Chiang Mai and missed out on the championship. I wonder if it was a mystery that the King's Cup was played in other provinces, so we didn't win the championship. But this time, I think under the guidance of Coach Masatada Ishii and Chanathip, we want to become champions. His Majesty King Rama X is 72 years old, making this year's King's Cup more important than ever."

The Thai team received great attention from fans.

Madam Pang with star Chanathip Songkrasin

Madam Pang also added that the demand for tickets to watch matches at the King's Cup 2024 among Thai fans is currently skyrocketing. FAT is expected to issue more tickets in the coming days to meet the fans' needs.

“The number of football fans in Songkhla is increasing. Some people wait for a whole week to buy tickets to the stadium. They even want to come to watch when the players practice. FAT is very happy with this and FAT believes that this fever will only get bigger,” Madam Pang added.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/kings-cup-2024-tao-con-sot-ve-madam-pang-mong-doi-tuyen-thai-lan-pha-dop-185241008165440655.htm