Thailand Coach Issara Sritaro hopes that Thailand and Indonesia will have an exciting semi-final match in the U23 Southeast Asia, without any incidents like the final of the 32nd SEA Games.
* Thailand - Indonesia: 8:00 p.m. Thursday, August 24, on VnExpress.
"That final is over. The next match will be different," coach Issara said at a press conference this afternoon, August 23, when asked about the infamous match with Indonesia more than three months ago. "Now, Thailand will only focus on tomorrow's match, trying their best to advance. I hope that tomorrow's conditions will be favorable, from the weather to the field, so that Thailand and Indonesia can perform well and develop together."
Coach Issara at a press conference at Rayong Stadium on the morning of August 23, before the semi-final match of the Southeast Asian U23 tournament with Indonesia. Photo: Lam Thoa
In the final match of the 32nd SEA Games on May 16 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in the second half of extra time, the referee blew the whistle to award Thailand a free kick. The Indonesian coaching staff mistakenly thought the whistle signaled the end of the match and jumped onto the field to celebrate because they were leading 2-1. Immediately after the free kick, Thailand attacked and tied the score at 2-2. Their players and coaching staff rushed into the Indonesian technical area to celebrate provocatively, leading to a fight.
At the beginning of the first extra time, Indonesia raised the score to 3-2. This time, it was their coaching staff's turn to rush to the Thai side to respond. Both sides then chased, punched, kicked, and slapped each other, creating chaos. When order was restored, the referee handed out five red cards to players and members of both teams. One of them was given to Sophonwit, the starting goalkeeper of the Thai team, leaving them with only 10 men. With the advantage of more players, Indonesia scored two more goals, ending the match with a 5-2 victory to win their first SEA Games gold medal.
The two teams then received a series of penalties from the Football Association of Thailand as well as the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Coach Issara did not participate in the fight so he continued to lead the U23 team.
Thailand and Indonesia brawled in the final match of SEA Games 32 in Cambodia on May 16.
Tomorrow’s home semi-final of the U23 Southeast Asian Championship will be the first time Issara and Thailand will meet Indonesia again after the brawl. Although coach Issara insists that he and his players have put the past behind them, there are still security concerns ahead of tomorrow’s match at Rayong Stadium. This morning, right before the pre-match press conference, the U23 Southeast Asian Championship organizing committee also held a separate meeting, planning preparations and strengthening necessary measures to ensure the Thailand-Indonesia confrontation.
Thailand is the number one candidate for the 2023 Southeast Asian U23 Championship. Besides the home field advantage, they are also in good form, winning all three matches against Myanmar, Brunei and Cambodia, scoring eight goals and conceding none.
Indonesia is currently led by coach Shin Tae-yong, who is also in charge of the national team. The South Korean coach is facing a lot of criticism because the team did not perform well in the group stage. They lost 1-2 to Malaysia and barely won 1-0 against Timor Leste. In the final round of Group C yesterday, if Vietnam lost to the Philippines by no more than three goals, Indonesia would have been eliminated. However, thanks to coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team winning 1-0, the team from the archipelago won an excellent second place in the group and a ticket to the semi-finals.
Coach Shin (left) shook hands with his colleague Issara at the press conference on the morning of August 23. Photo: Lam Thoa
When asked whether Indonesia should thank Vietnam, Coach Shin replied: "I thank you. But in my opinion, football must be played fairly and fairly. Yesterday, Vietnam played football. Instead of saying thank you, I think we should say that the match between Vietnam and the Philippines was worth watching. It was different from the match at the U19 tournament last year, Vietnam and Thailand did not play, just passed it back and forth."
Coach Shin's sharing was full of meaning, when recalling the match in the group stage of the 2022 Southeast Asian U19 tournament. At that time, Vietnam and Thailand drew 1-1 in the final match of Group A, both entering the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Indonesia was eliminated despite beating Myanmar 5-1 in the same match to have 11 points. Public opinion in the archipelago at that time was boiling, thinking that the two opponents had colluded to eliminate the host.
Vietnam then met Thailand again in the final, winning 5-3 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes of play.
Lam Thoa
Source link
Comment (0)