Coach Kiatisuk: 'Even though we're in the semi-finals, we still want to beat U23 Vietnam'

With four wins each, U23 Vietnam and U23 Thailand have quickly secured tickets to the semi-finals of the 28th SEA Games. The match between the two teams on the evening of June 10 will only determine the first and second place in Group B.

Under the leadership of coach Kiatisuk, Thai football has returned to its number one position in Southeast Asia.

“I was not in Singapore but I still heard continuous reports about the team. My students played very well and so did U23 Vietnam,” coach Kiatisuk Senamuang told VnExpress. “Although they have secured a ticket to the semi-finals, U23 Thailand will still play their best against U23 Vietnam. Our goal is to win all matches in the journey to defend the SEA Games gold medal. I am confident that U23 Thailand can defeat U23 Vietnam. Recently, we have always had good results when facing teams led by coach Toshiya Miura.”

Coach Kiatisuk has competed with Coach Miura for the second time and won both matches. In a friendly match before the Asian U23 qualifiers, the Thai Olympic team defeated the Vietnamese Olympic team 3-1 in Bangkok. On May 24, the Thai team defeated the Vietnamese team 1-0 in the opening match of the second qualifying round of the 2018 World Cup – Asian region, also in the land of the Golden Temple.

Thailand U23 currently has six players who have received yellow cards, if the referee shows more cards in the final match of the group stage, they will have to miss the semi-finals. However, coach Kiatisuk said that because of that, he will not use a different lineup when facing Vietnam U23.

“Assistant coach Promrut Choketawee and I have been discussing with each other constantly to come up with the starting 11 players for each match. We will not change much in the squad on our journey to defend the gold medal. I know that many players in the Thai U23 team have received a yellow card. However, that is not too important. The 20 Thai U23 players brought to Singapore are quite evenly matched, if someone is suspended, we will still have a suitable replacement,” added coach Kiatisuk.

Due to being busy leading the Thai team in the second qualifying round of the 2018 World Cup - Asia region, Coach Kiatisuk handed over the command of the U23 team to assistant Promrut Choketawee. However, he still talks to him on the phone every day to come up with training plans and match tactics. The football legend of the Golden Temple country said he has not decided whether to go to Singapore to direct his team in the semi-finals or not. Previously, he planned to be present in person only when the team reached the final match.

According to VNE