World Cup Qualifying Thailand

Five Things We Learned From Thailand’s 2-1 Win Over the UAE

By: , October 17, 2019 8:46 pm

Thailand emerged victorious against the UAE for the first time in over a decade, helping them leap to the top of the group with seven points from their opening three games. The victory has got the entire country buzzing, and things are finally looking up for the War Elephants. Football Tribe Thailand’s Obb Deewajin looks at five things we learned from what could become an iconic victory:

Theerathon impressed Bert van Marwijk

The Yokohama F. Marinos left-back put in another first-class performance for his national side, playing an instrumental role in Thailand's buildup play and set-piece delivery - using his composure on the ball to slow down the tempo and evade UAE's pressure. Like many modern attacking fullbacks, Theerathon Bunmathan defensive ability was put into question. Yet, the 29 years old responded by winning the majority of his one-on-one duels - earning admiration from UAE head coach Bert van Marwijk.

Teerasil-Renaissance

Teerasil Dangda sent the home crowd into a frenzy with a fine header in the 26th-minute. The former-Sanfrecce Hiroshima striker also could've scored more from two close-range chances, at the beginning of the first and second half, as well as a header from Theerathon Bunmathan's set-piece which hit the crossbar. Nevertheless, take away the goals and the half-chances and you still have a strong performance from Teerasil. As the squad's most experienced player, the Muangthong striker held Thailand's attacking line perfectly. Teerasil's goal started with him dropping deep to play a wall pass with Supachok Sarachat before making his way into the 6-yard box. The pace and power of the youngsters around Teerasil compliment his graceful touches and refined movement superbly. And with Nishino's preference for youthful talents, we could see Teerasil renaissance as the spearhead of Thailand's young exciting attack.

The Kids are Alright

With Group G being such a tight group, winning home games is crucial if any side wishes to make it to the next round, hence it was slightly surprising to see Akira Nishino fielding such a young side in a vital tie such as this. Teerasil Dangda is the most experienced player in the squad with over a hundred international caps to his name but all of the three attackers behind him all have less than 10 caps for Thailand. And in the case of left-winger Ekanit Panya, the UAE game was only his third start for the senior side. Still, the 19-year-old from Chiangrai managed to set up Teerasil's 26th-minute opener before converting a far-post finish to win Thailand the game, in front of 16,000 fans.

Tanaboon, an Accident Waiting to Happen

Port FC's Tanaboon Kesarat has been dubbed "The Thai-Busquets" in the past and while there are surface-level similarities to the Spanish superstar, the nicknamed does not represent the entire truth. Sure, Tanaboon is a neat defensive midfielder and offers good passing ability when played as a centreback. However, the actual art of defending is not Tanaboon's biggest strength. Nishino knows about this but persists to play Tanaboon in defense to aid his side's ball circulation. The former-Thai League record signing was at fault for Congo's equalizer on Thursday night, could've prevented UAE's equalizer if he wasn't facing his own goal when the cross came in. Simply put, Tanaboon was selected for his passing ability and not for his defending. Thailand got away against an average UAE side but the weakness is there to be exploited.

Running the Dressing Room

One of the biggest changes we saw after Akira Nishino's arrival is the positive mood within the squad. In the past, Thailand often failed to match the opponent's intensity from the kickoff - that wasn't the case on Tuesday night. In the past, Thailand have also guilty of losing their heads after conceding; see the War Elephants' Asian Cup defeats to India and China as an example. Yet, even though Ali Mabkhout equalized for UAE in first-half stoppage time, Nishino's men still came up roaring and took back the lead right away after in the second half. Many players have come out and spoken of improved morale within the national team camp - all pointing to Nishino's man management. And judging by the performance and result, things are looking promising.