Thailand must beat the Philippines in the Asian U23 Championship qualifying round today to stay in contention for an Olympic berth.
The match kicks off at 7pm after North Korea play Cambodia at 4pm in the other Group G match at Rajamangala National Stadium.
North Korea got off to a good start with a 4-0 win against the Philippines, while
Thailand, led by Chanathip ‘Messi Jay’, needed an injury-time goal from substitute Chenrop Samphaodi to beat Cambodia 2-1 on Friday.
Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams in the qualifying round will join hosts Qatar at the Asian U23 Championship finals in January with the top three teams representing the continent at the 2016 Olympics.
Thailand coach Kiatisak Senamuang said yesterday Thitiphan Puangjan has been ruled out for up to six weeks after getting injured against Cambodia.
He will be replaced by Chaowat Veerachat or Adisak Klinkosum, while Chenrop is likely to start from the bench again, Kiatisak said.
“We must beat the Philippines before we meet North Korea in the last group game,” he said.
“We hope to get three wins and advance to the finals.”
Meanwhile, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has appointed former Scotland manager Andy Roxburgh as its new technical director in a bid to improve standards across the continent.
The 71-year-old held a similar role with Uefa for 18 years before leaving in 2012 and his appointment continues the growing links between the Asian and European confederations in recent years.
“Having someone of his calibre join the AFC shows the attraction Asia has as global football’s future powerhouse,” AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said in a statement.
Roxburgh, who will be based in Kuala Lumpur at AFC House, was previously sporting director at the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer but left that role last year.
The Scot has previous experience working in Asia on coaching projects in a number of countries and was also a part of Fifa’s technical study group at six World Cups.
“Asia has great potential and I hope to use my experience for the benefit of the game throughout this amazing continent,” said Roxburgh, who led his country to the 1990 World Cup and 1992 Europeans Championships.
In another development, it’s just one game into Vahid Halilhodzic’s reign in Japan, but it looks like Shinji Kagawa may finally get his wish of playing in the hole for the national team.
Kagawa came off the bench after an hour in Friday’s 2-0 win over Tunisia, creating both goals for Shinji Okazaki and Keisuke Honda as Halilhodzic marked his Japan coach debut with victory.
Though it was only a 30-minute cameo, Kagawa was slotted in central attacking midfield, the position he plays for Dortmund and longed to play for Japan but was never given the opportunity by his three previous managers, Javier Aguirre, Alberto Zaccheroni and Takeshi Okada.
Along with Okazaki and Honda, Kagawa gave his team an instant lift after Halilhodzic started with an experimental XI including nine changes from Japan’s previous game, the quarter-final defeat to the United Arab Emirates at the Asian Cup in January.
“I have to show I can get the job done in the hole,” Kagawa said after training yesterday. “If we keep doing what we did last night, I’m sure my turn to score will come.”