Identifying the danger from U23 Thailand
(Baonghean.vn) - The President of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), Mr. Somyot Poompanmoung, said that FAT decided to send the strongest force in the U23 age group to participate in the 2020 AFC U23 qualifiers in Vietnam. Therefore, the confrontation with U23 Thailand of coach Park Hang-seo and his team became much more dramatic and tense.
Thailand is the host country of the 2020 AFC U23 Championship. That means their U23 team automatically has a ticket to the tournament. However, according to the regulations of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), U23 Thailand still has to participate in the qualifying round.
Confrontation for honor
Normally, the host countries participating in the qualifying round only send an experienced squad and do not focus on winning or losing. However, the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) has a different calculation, they consider the qualifying round of Group K taking place in Vietnam to be a competition between two football backgrounds, so they decided to use the best squad. Many of the top young talents of the Golden Temple country's football have arrived in Hanoi, such as midfielder Worachit Kanitsribumphen (Chonburi), Supachai Chaided, Supachok Sarachart, Rattakorn Maikami (Buriram) or Korrawit Tasa (Muangthong).
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| Coach Gama will most likely play with 4 defenders when meeting U23 Vietnam. Photo: FAT |
After two matches of the U23 Asian qualifiers, Group K, the U23 Thailand team is leading with 6 points and a very high goal difference (12/0), while the home team My Dinh Stadium also has 6 points and is second in the group (7/0). The game is only a dispute between U23 Vietnam and Thailand, while the two U23 teams Indonesia and Brunei are eliminated.
Coach Gama has in his hands 5 players who defeated Quang Hai's U19 Vietnam team 6-0 in the final match of U19 Southeast Asia 2015 (held in Vientiane, Laos): Jakkit Wachpirom, Supachai Jaided, Saringkan Promsupa, Wisarut Imura and captain Worachit Kanitsribampen.
FAT is determined to win against U23 Vietnam to reduce public criticism of the federation and President Somyot Poompanmoung personally about the recent poor performance of Thai football.
"Dangda the second"
Thailand's striker, born in 1998, Supachai Jaided, is causing a stir in the 2020 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers after scoring a "double" against Indonesia and a classy hat-trick in the 8-0 win over Brunei. This is a striker who is expected to threaten goalkeeper Tien Dung and the U23 Vietnam defense after scoring 5 goals in the qualifiers.
Surely Vietnamese audiences still remember at the AFF Cup 2018, this 1.83m tall striker scored 4 goals in 5 matches in the regional team tournament at the end of last year. Before that, in 2015, when he was only 16 years old, Supachai shone to help Thailand U19 win the Southeast Asian championship.
Number 9 of U23 Thailand is considered the "successor" of star Teerasil Dangda. With a height of 1m83 and can play well as a center forward or operate widely as a free striker. In fact, in the 2 matches at My Dinh Stadium, playing the highest in the 3-5-2 formation against U23 Indonesia or playing as a free striker in the 4-4-2 formation against U23 Brunei,“Dangda 2nd”all work very well
This young striker is good with both feet, and can also score with his head in difficult situations. The proof is that in the last 2 matches in the U23 Asian qualifiers, Supachai Jaided scored with both his left foot, right foot and a header against U23 Indonesia in the opening match.
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| Supachai Jaided is the most dangerous striker of U23 Thailand. Photo: FAT |
Like his idol, the player who plays for champions Buriram United is very flexible in his movement, often running in wide areas. In addition to having speed, this player's ability to handle close-range in a small area is making the opponent confused.
Supachai Jaided is in the best form in the qualifying round, this will be a remarkable card in the hands of coach Gama. The terrible scoring efficiency of the striker born in 1998 is making Vietnamese audiences worried. To continue, coach Park needs to put Dinh Trong on the field soon to find a way to neutralize this number 1 striker.
It is likely that Mr. Park Hang-seo will adjust both the personnel and the playing style of the midfield because compared to the U23 Indonesian players, Supachai Chaided, Supachok Sarachart, and Rattakorn Maikami have a more varied playing style and stronger central attacks.
Although experts say that Vietnamese players are now "out of sync" with Thailand, in the current specific context, if we want to win, we probably still have to play as "underdogs".
