Thailand is determined to win convincingly against the Philippines.

Does Thailand dislike playing on artificial turf?

According to Siamsport, during meetings with Thai players in preparation for the first leg of the 2024 AFF Cup semi-final against the Philippines at Rizal Memorial Stadium, many players expressed their frustration at having to play on artificial turf. Player Thitathorn Aksornsri lamented: "Currently, very few countries use artificial turf for official tournaments. We have to train to adjust to everything, from passing to dribbling… Playing on artificial turf is different and quite difficult."

The Thai national team is ready for their match against the Philippines on the artificial turf.

Not only Thailand, but the Vietnamese team also faced a difficult match on the artificial turf of Rizal Memorial Stadium on December 18th, struggling until the 90+7th minute of injury time to equalize 1-1 against the Philippines thanks to a goal by Doan Ngoc Tan. To date, the Philippines have played two matches at Rizal Memorial Stadium in the AFF Cup 2024, both ending in 1-1 draws, the previous match against Myanmar being a draw.

Despite having the advantage of an artificial turf pitch, the Philippines did not receive much support from their home crowd when playing at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. According to statistics from the AFF Cup, across two group stage matches, coach Albert Capellas's team only had about 4,935 fans in attendance. Specifically, the match against Myanmar had 1,589 spectators, while the match against Vietnam had 3,346 viewers.

"Coach Masatada Ishii's players will have to overcome the difficulties of playing on artificial turf. A comfortable victory is appropriate, avoiding unfortunate injuries, to create an advantage when returning home for the second leg," Siamsport emphasized.

Will two stars from Japan play for Thailand?

Prior to the AFF Cup semi-finals, the Thai national team no longer experienced situations where players had to return to their clubs and then rejoin the team, as was the case with Suphanat Mueanta, Pansa Hemviboon, and Seksan Ratree. These players maintained their commitment to playing until the end of the tournament.

Coach Masatada Ishii clearly showed his displeasure. He stated that the return of the three players to their clubs was a tacit agreement between the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) and the clubs. He himself was unaware of this and was only informed about it after the incident occurred. "This is unacceptable. I hope this will not happen again," Coach Ishii expressed.

To date, the Thai national team has a full squad of 26 players ready for the semi-final matches. Among them, two stars from Japan, midfielders Supachok Sarachat and Ekanit Panya, are expected to play from the knockout stage onwards.

However, only Supachok Sarachat is fully fit and ready, while Ekanit Panya has not fully recovered from injury. In addition, Thailand will have the return of midfielder Ben Davis (who played exceptionally well in the opening match against Timor Lester with a 10-0 victory). Furthermore, Suphanat Mueanta, after returning to his club following an incident, has been given a rest and is in good shape for the semi-final matches.

The Philippines will be without defender Amani Aguinaldo due to a suspension; he was the player who caused Indonesia captain Muhammad Ferarri to receive a red card in the decisive final group stage match (Philippines won 1-0).

Watch the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 live and in its entirety onFPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lich-thi-dau-ban-ket-aff-cup-moi-nhat-thai-lan-quyet-thang-thuyet-phuc-philippines-185241225215423346.htm