{"id":19995,"date":"2019-09-13T22:46:37","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T13:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/?p=19995"},"modified":"2019-09-13T22:46:37","modified_gmt":"2019-09-13T13:46:37","slug":"thailand-world-cup-qualifiers-tactical-breakdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/2019\/09\/13\/thailand-world-cup-qualifiers-tactical-breakdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Thailand World Cup Qualifiers Tactical Breakdown"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Credit – @ThaiNTOFFICIAL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Obb Deewajin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Football Tribe Thailand<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now that the dust has settled, I think it\u2019s time I breakdown what we’ve learned from Thailand\u2019s first two Group G World Cup qualifiers against Vietnam and Indonesia.<\/p>\n

With only one closed-door friendly to test his players, there was plenty of speculation leading up to the Vietnam games regarding Akira Nishino\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s primary creative force.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Vietnam’s Front Three Choked the Thai Defense\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr.Park\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s no wonder the Thais move the ball around so slowly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Theerathon – The Heartbeat of the Team<\/b><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the match against Vietnam, Theerathon played in a role that coaches and the tactical community describe as an \u201cInverted Fullback\u201d. 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the key element of Nishino\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Luckily, this is where Theerathon\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s \u201cInverted Fullback\u201d movement in hopes to cancel out his influence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet this meant Vietnam\u2019s forward line is now outnumbered by the Thais. Nishino also followed up Park\u2019s 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\u2019s side dominated possession, only to lose momentum whenever they made a mistake and came under threat of Vietnam\u2019s swift counterattacks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Supachok Becomes Take-On King, While Tristan Do Struggles<\/b><\/p>\n

The 4-4-2 diamond formation helps your team take control of the midfield but offers little width in defense and attack. Nishino addressed these disadvantages by having forward Supachok stretching out to<\/span> hug the touchline. Right-back Tristan Do carried out the same task on the opposite flank. Both players were not involved in the build-up phase of the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Supachok shined in this tactical setup, which suits his personal trait of cutting inside and having a shot at goal. The Buriram United star constantly got the better of right-wingback Nguyen Trong Hoang and almost score in the first-half when he tried to curl a shot into the far post.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Playing on the same flank as Theerathon meant the ball mostly found it\u2019s way to Supachok or the space in behind, where he can reach with his incredible pace. Phitiwat\u2019s box-to-box ‘underlapping’ runs from the inside-left channel also vital in dragging out the opponent, opening up spaces for Supachok to cut into.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately the same could not be same about Tristan Do, who is evenly matched with left-wingback Nguyen Phong Hong Duy in terms of pace and acceleration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like I\u2019ve mentioned above, Vietnam set out to press from their right flank, inwards, then out their left flank – which was Thailand\u2019s right side, occupied by Tristan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Being a fullback, Tristan game is limited to around 180-degree angle due to the fact that he spends most of the game hugging the touchline. This made Tristan the perfect target to harras and win the ball. More so than Theerathon, who is able to shift inside and expand his field of play.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Phong Hong Duy and his teammates does a fantastic job in closing Tristan. And to not concede possession in such dangerous area, Manuel had no choice but launch the ball forward – inadvertently cutting Tristan, and to a certain extent Thitipan, out of the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How do we Bring the Girl Home?<\/b><\/p>\n

Chanathip Songkrasin was guaranteed to be shadowed for the entire game. So it made sense for Nishino to allow Chanathip the freedom to roam – find pockets of space where he sees fit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, with Chanathip darting around and Supachok stationed on the far left, there is no one to break in behind Vietnam\u2019s backline. Thitipan is one of the country\u2019s best at making lung-busting vertical runs into the opponent\u2019s box but there is no room to do so when he\u2019s playing him so high up the pitch. There is no room for him to build up pace and attack at the right moment – Vietnam sat so deep that it would be like running into a brick wall.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nishino pulled Thitipan back into midfield in the second half, and Trinita man got more involved until he limped off due to what we now know is an 8-week injury. Striker Supachai Jaided came on in the 67th minute but penetrating the opposition backline isn\u2019t one of his specialties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thailand controlled the majority of possession while Vietnam continued to threaten on the counter – breaking through down the flanks a couple of times. Sadly, Nishino\u2019s side couldn’t find their way past Mr.Park\u2019s fortress and the game ended scoreless.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After the game, Nishino made it clear he was slightly disappointed by the lack of penetration and decisive actions by Thailand in the final third. This was a statement Nishino repeated the team must improve ahead of the away game versus Indonesia.<\/span><\/p>\n

Former Chile and Argentina head coach Jorge Sampaoli once compared having possession without penetration like flirting to a girl all night but not bringing her home. And that the moment, the Thais are leaving the bars drunk and alone.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Obb Deewajin Football Tribe Thailand   Now that the dust has settled, I think it\u2019s time I breakdown what we’ve learned from Thailand\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.\u00a0 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 … Continue reading “Thailand World Cup Qualifiers Tactical Breakdown”<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":19998,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1635,38],"tags":[95,68,480],"class_list":["post-19995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","category-thailand","tag-slider","tag-thailand","tag-world-cup-qualifiers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19995"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20001,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19995\/revisions\/20001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}