Thailand team struggled to defeat Sri Lanka in Asian Cup qualifiers

(Dan Tri) - The Thai team won a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Sri Lanka in the opening match of Group D of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers on the evening of March 25 (Vietnam time).

Welcoming Sri Lanka at home, the Thai team quickly put pressure on the visitors' defense with a high formation. In the 10th minute, midfielder Chanathip Songkrasin tested the visitors' goalkeeper with a shot from just outside the penalty area but was unsuccessful.

After about half an hour of defensive focus, Sri Lanka regained control of the game and launched several quick counterattacks. However, Thailand still controlled the ball well in midfield and made the visitors struggle to defend.

Thailand team faced many difficulties in the opening match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers (Photo: Dailynews).

In the 42nd minute, the Thai team finally got the opening goal when striker Supanat Mueanta headed the ball in the penalty area, making it impossible for the Sri Lankan goalkeeper to catch, allowing Patrick Gustavsson to quickly score the rebound to score against the visitors.

Notably, after the home team conceded a goal, Sri Lanka coach Abdullah Al Mutairi reacted violently, resulting in a red card from the referee and losing control of the pitch. The 1-0 score remained until the end of the first half.

Entering the second half, in the 49th minute, Thailand almost increased the gap when Supachai Sarachat received the ball in the penalty area and shot very hard, but the ball unfortunately hit the post and bounced out.

The Thai team had many opportunities in front of Sri Lanka's goal but only scored 1 goal (Photo: Dailynews).

In the 69th minute, the Thai team continued to miss the opportunity when Chanathip Songkrasin passed the ball to teammate Teerasak Poeiphimai who was not marked in the penalty area, but this striker's shot went wide in an inexplicable way.

In the remaining minutes, the Thai team continued to attack strongly but could not score any more goals and ended the match with a narrow 1-0 victory over Sri Lanka.

In the remaining match of Group D, the Turkmenistan team defeated Taiwan (China) with a score of 2-1, thereby having the same 3 points as Thailand but winning the top spot in the group thanks to a better goal difference.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/tuyen-thai-lan-nhoc-nhan-danh-bai-sri-lanka-o-vong-loai-asian-cup-20250325215013214.htm