Obb Deewajin
Football Tribe Thailand
Now that the dust has settled, I think it’s time I breakdown what we’ve learned from Thailand’s first two Group G World Cup qualifiers against Vietnam and Indonesia.
With only one closed-door friendly to test his players, there was plenty of speculation leading up to the Vietnam games regarding Akira Nishino’s first starting XI. The former Japanese national team head coach surprised the majority of supporters by fielding a 4-4-2 diamond formation, one the War Elephants rarely ever starts with.
Nishino also made a brave tactical choice to use midfielder Thitipan Puangchan as the right-side forward with 21 years old Supachok Sarachat starting his second senior game on the opposite flank. Behind the pair is Chanathip Songkrasin, Thailand’s primary creative force.
Elsewhere, Nishino selection was as many had expected. Newly crown captain Siwarak Tedsungnoen pull ahead of Kawin Thamsatchanan in goal. Tristan Do and Theerathon Bunmathan started as right and left-back respectively. Manuel Bihr and Pansa Hemviboon teamed up as the centrebacks duo even though previously they only played 45 minutes together. In midfield is the trio of Phitiwat Sukjitthammakul, Tanaboon Kesarat, and Sarach Yooyen.
Vietnam’s Front Three Choked the Thai Defense
A battle between the two SEA powerhouses was always going to be a close and cagey match. A point on the road is a fine result for the Golden Dragons and that is exactly how Park Hang-Seo set up that game. Like they did to Malaysia in the AFF Championship finals, Vietnam was happy to surrender possession, force the opposition to be on the ball, retreat to the halfway line, and wait to pounce with the electrifying pace of their forwards.
When building-up from the back, the defensive-minded Tanaboon Kesarat would drop slightly deeper between Pansa and Manuel to form a back-3. However, Vietnam’s 3-4-3 formation allows their front-3 of Nguyen Van Toan, Nguyen Tien Linh and Nguyen Quang Hai, to match the Thai ‘back three’ man for man.
Mr.Park’s men would press from their right flank to the left. Curving their runs so the Thai left-sided centreback (Pansa) could not make the pass out to his left where the technically gifted Theerathon Bunmathan and Supachok Sarachat is positioned.
Thailand could not afford any mistake or misplace any pass now that the visitors were matching them up 3 versus 3 in the first phase of play. Add to that the rain and slippery surface, and there’s no wonder the Thais move the ball around so slowly.
Theerathon – The Heartbeat of the Team
Theerathon is the second most capped player in this squad (only behind goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan), and the Marinos left-back really shoulder that responsibility in the 2 games – playing with a calmness that fans demand of someone of his caliber.
In the match against Vietnam, Theerathon played in a role that coaches and the tactical community describe as an “Inverted Fullback”. A fullback that tends to shift inwards, often resembling another midfielder, with the aim to offer himself as an additional passing option for his teammates or cover the central area (the most vulnerable part of the pitch) in case of turnovers and other offensive moves.
One of the key element of Nishino’s positional play (what the team does with the ball to break the opponent down) from the Vietnam game was how he had Tanaboon dropping deep while the powerful Phitiwat bomb forward. Occasionally this left Sarach isolated and outnumbered with 2 Vietnamese central midfielders. The Thai centrebacks were also occupied by the Vietnamese front-3 and unable to step up and support Sarach.
Luckily, this is where Theerathon’s intelligence comes in. Moving inside, just behind the opposition front-three, Theerathon opens himself for a pass from his defenders as well as helping Sarach by evening out the central midfield battle to 2-vs-2. The Thais can now carry the ball from their own third to the middle third.
But credit to coach Park and his staff, just moments later they spotted what was going on and ordered the right-side forward Quang Hai to follow Theerathon’s “Inverted Fullback” movement in hopes to cancel out his influence.
Yet this meant Vietnam’s forward line is now outnumbered by the Thais. Nishino also followed up Park’s maneuver by telling Phitiwat to hold his position in midfield – meaning it is now a 3v3 situation in the center and a 3v2 in favor of Thailand in the first phase. That was how Nishino’s side dominated possession, only to lose momentum whenever they made a mistake and came under threat of Vietnam’s swift counterattacks.