The Thai team passed the group stage to win tickets to participate in the round of 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup. The opponent of the "war elephant" in the knock-out round is the representative of the Central Asian region Uzbekistan. In theory, the Uzbekistan team is rated higher, ranking 45 places above Thailand on the FIFA rankings (68 compared to 113). However, when it comes to actual competition, rankings don't say much.
The media of the land of golden temples is confident about the Thai team's chances of winning. In particular, Thairath newspaper commented that the possibility of continuing will be almost equally divided between the two teams. The Thai newspaper also quoted former head coach "war elephant" Kiatisak.
Coach Kiatisak believes that the Thai team has a chance to win
Head coach of Hanoi Police Club said that the Thai team was quite lucky to only face Uzbekistan in the round of 16. Mr. Kiatisak shared: "This match will be very difficult, but the Thai players are very confident now. I see that there is almost no difference between the official squad and the reserve squad of Thailand."
The former head coach of HAGL team is confident: "The Thai team has good defense, but needs to be sharper in attack. Thailand played well in the match against Saudi Arabia, creating scoring opportunities. Therefore, I believe that Thailand has a chance to win against Uzbekistan."
The Thai team is expected to surprise Uzbekistan
“Uzbekistan uses the same 4-2-3-1 tactical diagram as Thailand. Uzbekistan's strengths are team spirit and aerial combat. But this is the knockout round, so I think Uzbekistan will not dare to impose an attacking style of play against Thailand. The two teams will focus on limiting goals and the match could go to extra time or a penalty shootout. As for the Thai team, in my opinion, they should boldly play more offensively, after playing very well defensively in the group stage. In this match, the key is which team scores first. I believe that with the current confidence, the Thai team can win," coach Kiatisak added.
The match between Thailand and Uzbekistan will take place at 18:30 p.m. today (January 30.1).
