Coach Akira Nishino is confident in the finishing of the Thai national team's defenders and midfielders.
(Baonghean.vn) - Leading the Thai national team to face Vietnam for the first time, coach Akira Nishino pointed out the weaknesses of his players in the past and is confident in the players' ability to score in the match against Thailand tomorrow.
Speaking at the press conference before the Thai team's match at 5:30 p.m. this afternoon, September 4, coach Akira Nishino said: "The Thai players are ready. Although we only have 7 days to prepare, we have invested carefully for the upcoming match."
Assessing the quality of the squad he has in hand, the Japanese strategist said: “The squad for the match against Vietnam will have many young players mixed with experienced players. The young players did very well on the training ground. Maybe this time, some young players were not selected in the registration list, but I highly appreciate their potential.”
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| Coach Akira Nishino admitted that the Thai team is under pressure to beat Vietnam. Photo: Trung Kien |
Calling up 10 midfielders, coach Akira Nishino also revealed the reason why he only needed to focus on 1 striker, Supachai, in the match against Vietnam: “At the King's Cup 2019, we lost because of finishing. The Thai team did well but in the final third of the field, they could not solve the problem of scoring. The problem here is not being able to finish well to turn opportunities into goals. Not just strikers, I want every player to be able to score when they have the opportunity to penetrate the net of the Vietnamese team and other teams.”
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| Coach Akira Nishino has high expectations for the midfield. Photo: Trung Kien |
Besides, this coach also admitted that the home team is facing a lot of pressure when having to defeat coach Park Hang-seo's team: "The Vietnam team is a strong team, that was proven at the 2019 Asian Cup. At present, the Vietnam team has made great progress compared to before. We still have some problems, I myself also face certain pressure when trying to defeat the Vietnam team."
When asked by Vietnamese reporters about the reason for the sudden change in training plans before the match against Vietnam, coach Akira Nishino explained: “We do not need to practice in private. We have prepared well enough and are determined enough to enter the match. Therefore, we will not worry about information being leaked. And in fact, we are still ready to let the press in to work.”
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| Goalkeeper Siwarak Tedsungnoen is likely to start. Photo: Trung Kien |
The captaincy of the Thai national team this time was given to goalkeeper Siwarak Tedsungnoen - the oldest player in the team (35 years old), and this is the player that coach Akira chose to accompany him to the press conference. This also proves that goalkeeper Kawin is likely to be on the bench because he is not in good form.
The captain of the Thai national team confidently said: “Vietnam is a strong team, with remarkable progress in recent years. Whether Thailand, Vietnam or any team in Group G wins a ticket to the next round, the next round will be very difficult. Therefore, everyone needs to make certain progress.”
Coach Park affirmed that Vietnam is not afraid of Thailand, got angry in the press conference room
(Baonghean.vn) - Coach Park Hang-seo appeared very annoyed and angry when Thai reporters made noise and did not appear serious in the press conference room. Meanwhile, Que Ngoc Hai answered questions confidently.