The Thai player is not in good condition
The Thai team just struggled to play more than 120 minutes against the Philippines in the semi-final second leg on the evening of December 30, 2024. “War Elephants” won tickets to the AFF Cup 2024 finals by defeating the Philippines with a score of 4-3 after 2 matches, but the team from the land of the Golden Temple also paid the price. Having to compete at high intensity for a long time causes the physical strength of Thai players to be eroded, easily leading to injury. After the semi-final second leg, at least 2 players of this team were not in the best shape. The powerful “secondary double” Teerasak Poeiphimai was replaced in the 64th minute but had to leave the field in the 78th minute. According to Thai media, Teerasak Poeiphimai had to go to the hospital to have a back pain checked, so it is unlikely he will recover in time. final is very low. Meanwhile, Suphanat Mueanta is not even healthy enough to play in the semi-final second leg on December 30, 2024, but coach Masatada Ishii reluctantly had to put the striker born in 2002 on the field because he wanted to decide the match. in extra time. Suphanat had a high fever after this semi-final and had to be hospitalized, so he will go to Vietnam later than his teammates.
The Thai team is confident but they have less time to recover compared to Vietnam
After struggling to defeat the Philippines, the Thai team had to fly to Vietnam to play the first leg of the final at Viet Tri Stadium. According to the plan, the “war elephants” were divided into two groups and arrived in Vietnam on the evening of December 31, then moved from Hanoi to Phu Tho that night. Thus, Coach Ishii and his team only had one practice session in Vietnam (January 1), and that was also the official match-field familiarization session.
Highlight Thailand 3-1 Philippines – Semi-final second leg of ASEAN MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC Cup 2024
It can be seen that exerting too much effort in the semi-final second leg against the Philippines, and at the same time going through a dense travel schedule, put Thailand at a disadvantage before the final first leg, when facing Mr. Kim Sang’s army. sik. Coach Ishii admitted right after the semi-final second leg: “From here until the final first leg, we only have 2 days of rest. There are players injured, and this is unfortunate. However, The Thai team will try their best with the remaining force. Regarding the plan for the final, Thailand will have a plan for each match… We want to win both remaining matches and win the championship. AFF Cup 2024”.
The Vietnamese team faced many advantages before the first leg of the final. Mr. Kim Sang-sik and his team have been able to rest since the evening of December 29, without having to travel and especially playing at home. However, Thailand is a team with class and bravery. “War Elephant” always knows how to overcome difficult times. This was proven through the match in which Thailand was 2 goals behind, but came back spectacularly to win 4-2 against Singapore. The final result in the semi-finals with the Philippines is also an affirmation of the bravery of the “war elephant”. Thailand’s strength is that it always plays extremely well when put in a difficult position, forced to speed up at a certain time to find a goal. Therefore, the Vietnamese team needs to be very cautious if they want to win in the first leg of the final.
