Southeast Asia Thailand

Thailand prepare for friendly with Uzbekistan with “play it safe” tactic

Thailand’s new coach Milovan Rajevac prepares for a friendly match in Uzbekistan on June 6 before a World Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates a week later in Bangkok.

The Thai national team are training for the upcoming friendly match with Uzbekistan on Tuesday.

Coach Milovan Rajevac has taken charge at the War Elephants after the miserable third-round 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. The team earned just one point in seven matches, even conceded seven goals in the most recent games against Saudi Arabia and Japan.

Wanting the team to avoid making major mistakes in the remaining qualifiers, the 63-year-old Serbian encourages players to curb their attacking instinct and concentrate on retaining possession instead.

Zoran Jankovic, an assistant to Thailand’s new coach Milovan Rajevac, told reporters: “We don’t want the players to be too keen on attacking. We want every player to slow down and play it safe, making fewer mistakes and controlling the ball for as long as possible,” as quoted by Bangkok Post.