Tickets gone in 2 hours — fans back Thai title dream
PUBLISHED : 5 Jan 2025 at 05:51
Thailand will take on arch-rivals Vietnam in the second leg of the Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 final on Sunday.
The War Elephants have their backs against the wall after they went down 2-1 in the first leg match at Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho on Thursday night.
Brazil-born Nguyen Xuan Son struck both goals for the Vietnamese before Thailand centre-back Chalermsak Aukkee pulled a goal back.
Masatada Ishii’s men need to win Sunday’s showdown at Rajamangala National Stadium by two goals if they are to win their eighth Asean title.
“We lost the first leg match in Vietnam due to some poor defending and some mistakes but if we look into the details the team did not make any huge mistakes. We will try to cut down on individual errors, improve and be ready for the game tomorrow [Sunday].
The Japanese tactician remained tight-lipped about his team selection for today’s game.
“I can’t say who will play tomorrow but every player will be ready. We are planning our tactics for the game and practise the penalty shoot-out as well,” he added.
Thailand will be without Akkrapong Pomwiset, who suffered an ankle injury during the first leg in Vietnam.
“Akkrapong is one of the main players in our midfield along with Peeradol [Chamratsamee] and Weerathep [Pomphan] so his injury will affect the team,” said Ishii.
Captain Peeradol Chamratsamee said the team’s spirit remain high despite the first leg defeat in Vietnam.
“The players are recovering physically and are trying to be in their best shape for tomorrow. Mentally, everyone is not sad about the result or under pressure. There is one more game tomorrow so let’s see if we can win it or not,” said Peeradol.
“We had a team talk in the dressing room after the game in Vietnam. I already said what was needed to be said. I hope everyone plays with confidence and goes out there tomorrow in front of a packed stadium and repays the fans,” he added.
“Thank you to the fans for believing in the team. We will try our best tomorrow.”
Tickets for the match were reportedly sold out within two hours when they went on sale on Thursday.
“The 12th player is very important for the Thai national team and I am very happy to see the strong support from the fans because the tickets were sold out in less than two hours. This shows that the fans have a lot of faith in the team,” said Nualphan Lamsam, president of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT).
Sunday’s match, which will kick off at 8pm, will be broadcast live on Thai Rath TV, TrueSport 2, AIS Play and BG Sports YouTube Channel.