AFF Cup 2024, Thailand team 0-0 Philippines: ‘War elephant’ puts Suphanat on the bench

* PRE-MATCH COMMENTARY

It can be clearly seen how hurt the Thai team was through defender Chalermsak Aukke’s statement before the semi-final second leg. The player playing for Port Club shared: “When we lost at the Rizal Memorial, the Philippines were so happy that they cried. In this rematch, they will cry again but because we prevented them from reaching the final. In the first leg, we lost the match, but if you look at the statistics, you can clearly see that we played well. In addition, the artificial turf surface also caused the Thai team to play below their strength Next time, I believe that the Thai team will win and win tickets final”.

Chalermsak’s statement also has basis. In the first leg, the Thai team controlled the ball better (58% compared to 42%), had more shots (14 compared to 6) and had more good opportunities (6 compared to 1). But on the day strikers like Gustavsson, Akarapong… proved to be relatively ungainly, and Suphanat Muenta was too unlucky (hitting the crossbar), “War Elephant” sadly admitted defeat.

But on Rajamangala Stadium, things can be very different. Returning to play on the familiar natural grass field under the cheers of tens of thousands of home spectators, the Thai team may “batter” the Philippines. With the bravery of the most successful team in the region, “War Elephants” is capable of doing that. At Rajamangala, they persevered in playing football, creating tremendous pressure on Singapore and successfully coming back from 0-2 down. 2 years ago, also in the AFF Cup semi-finals, they lost 0-1 to Malaysia at Bukit Jalil and won 3-0 when they returned home.

After defeating Singapore, midfielder Bui Tien Dung affirmed that he wanted to meet the Thai team. Southeast Asian media also predicted there would be a “dream” final between Vietnam and Thailand. And now is the time for us to wait for coach Masatada Ishii and his team to show their bravery.