Southeast Asia Thailand

Five Things We Learned – Thailand 1-1 Congo

By: , October 12, 2019 9:35 pm

Ahead of their World Cup Qualifying match against the UAE, Thailand played a friendly on home turf against Congo. Akira Nishino’s side used this game as an opportunity to work on their approach and try some new players. Football Tribe Thailand’s Obb Deewajin looks at five things the War Elephants can learn from this game going forward.

Solid Debut by Nitipong Selanon

After a strong 2019 campaign, and being Port FC's most consistent player for the past two seasons, Nitipong Selanon finally made his debut for the War Elephant. The 26-year-old right-back took care of the Congolese winger and does well with his passing to break past the opponent's pressing. Nitipong is a more conservative option compared to the likes of Tristan Do or Narubadin Weerawatnodom. After a fine performance as a starting XI, head coach Akira Nishino will certainly be pleased with the choices he has at fullback.

Center-back Solution - Improved Attack but Weakened Defence?

Pansa Hemviboon had two sub-par performances as the left-sided center-back in Thailand's first two World Cup qualifiers versus Vietnam and Indonesia. This is partly due to the defender's inability to play out from the back - something he isn't asked to do regularly with Buriram United. With this issue in mind, head coach Akira Nishino shifted Tanaboon Kesarat from midfield to center-back, hoping the 26-year-old composure would help Thailand bypass the opponent's pressure. Tanaboon carried out the task well, especially when one of Sarach Yooyen or Phitiwat Sukjitthammakul dropped back to form a 3-man numerical advantage in the first stage of play. However, this meant sacrificing Pansa's defensive strength. Tanaboon lost most of his aerial challenges and was partly at fault for Congo's equalizer.

Undroppable Phitiwat

A good player plays well. A great one plays well and makes the team better in the process This is exactly what Phitiwat Sukjitthammakul brings to the squad. The Chiangrai United midfield is built like a tank. His athleticism compensates for his midfield partner Sarach Yooyen's lack of it, allowing the Muangthong United star to focus on the creative aspect of the game. Phitiwat's quality was clear to see in his absence in the second half. Without Phitiwat shielding the defense, the Thai back-4 became exposed and was extremely vulnerable to direct attacks and unable to win enough second-balls. Three excellent starts under Nishino should be more than enough to guarantee Phitiwat a place in the starting XI against UAE.

Suphanat Justifying his Hype

On the same day that The Guardian published their annual Next Generation series - a compilation of 60 football wonderkids to keep an eye out for - Suphanat Mueanta came off the bench for his first game under Akira Nishino. The 17-year-old striker is one of those 60 talents and showed, once again, why he is so highly rated - causing havoc with his pace, flair and fine touches. Suphanat got an opponent sent off and was unlucky that his 75th-minute shot flew inches wide.

Fit Teerasil Gives Thailand Hope Against UAE

Striker Teerasil Dangda celebrated his return to the national team with his a goal - 44th in 101 outings for the War Elephants. The Muangthong United veteran was carrying an injury the last time he played for Thailand (a 1-0 defeat to India in August) but has since taken his time to recover and now look a much fresher presence spearheading the Thai attack. "Teerasil's experience helped us out a lot" stated Akira Nishino in his post-match conference "We can see tonight how he attracted the Congolese defenders onto him - opening spaces for teammates to drift into. Teerasil links up with others well but needs to make more movement off the ball. Still, I can see him improving on that side of the game." Chanathip Songkrasin and Thitipan Puangchan didn't make the squad with injury and Theerathon Bunmathan was pulled off with a knock during warm-up. This means all of Thailand's J League-based players are unavailable, resulting in a massive drop in quality. However, the performance of the former-Sanfrecce Hiroshima striker gave the fans a much-needed positivity.