Thailand are preparing for the start of the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualifying campaign under the stewardship of new coach Akira Nishino. The Japanese boss will send his War Elephants out for the first time against Vietnam on Thursday, and many questions remain as to how they will look once the curtain is finally pulled back. Today, Football Tribe’s Gian Chansrichawla and Obb Deewajin take a look at four possible lineups for this Thailand side,
4-3-3 (Obb)
Getting the best out of Thailand’s 3 J League-based players is surely one of Akira Nishino’s priorities, and the 4-3-3 formation is the perfect system to do so. Fans-favourite Phitiwat Sukjitthammakul might be getting a lot of shouts to start as the holding midfield but shoehorning a box-to-box midfielder is never the wisest idea (see the infamous Gerrard-Lampard debate). And even though Tanaboon Kesarat has been playing in defense for Port FC, and had a poor King’s Cup campaign, the 25 years old is still Thailand’s best option for this role within this squad.
Add Sarach Yooyen and Thitipan Puangchan to that and you got yourself a classic 3-man midfield, passer-destroyer-runner, combination.
Theerathon Bunmathan loves to get forward, and even though he doesn’t always trackback, we must encourage him to do so for his quality to deliver key passes from the byline or even deeper, more central, areas. Nitipong Selanon may not be as adventurous compare the other right-backs but the Port FC fullback does offer good defensive cover and can tug inside to form a back-3 when Theerathon heads forward – a job Nitipong performs regularly at club level.
The 4-3-3 gives Chanathip Songkrasin the freedom to roam on the left and drifting inside into the channel rather than getting crowded out in the number 10 position. A triangle of Chanathip, Theerathon, and Sarach on the left half of the pitch could be where Thailand dominate possession break pass Vietnam’s backline.