Thais mull changes for N Korea

Thais mull changes for N Korea

Thailand U23 coach Zoran Jankovic controls the ball during yesterday's training session.
Thailand U23 coach Zoran Jankovic controls the ball during yesterday's training session.

Coach Zoran Jankovic is planning to make a few changes to the Thai U23 side for their second M-150 Cup match with North Korea tomorrow at Buriram United's I-Mobile stadium.

The War Elephants stunned the Japanese U23 team 2-1 in their opening Group A game on Saturday night.

Three players missed yesterday morning's training session.

Noppol Pholkum suffered from food poisoning and had to be admitted to a hospital, while Rattanai Songsangchan and Supachok Sarachart were injured during the game with Japan.

Jankovic said: "Since there isn't enough time between matches to allow the players to recover, we kept the things light today. We mainly concentrated on the tactical aspects of the match against North Korea.

"For the game with North Korea, we will make some changes to the team that beat Japan on Saturday.

"We want to test some new players and we need to rest Noppol. He looks fine now but we don't want to rush him. We want him to wait and regain fitness because he is one of our key players.

"Supachok's injury is also not very serious, but we don't want to risk him as well. We want him to be fully fit in case we qualify for the final."

The winners of the two groups will meet in the final of the tournament, while the second-places sides will square off in the third-place play-off on Friday.

Jankovic added: "Rattanai however will not be able to take part in the remaining matches of this tournament.

"Actually, his injury isn't serious but we will have to see if he will be available for the Asian Championship in China next month. We are hoping that he will recover in time."

Thailand midfielder Worachit Kanitsribumphen said: "We are ready for the next game. We would have to help each other and try to control the game against the North Koreans. They are very fit, but we hope to record a win against them."

Another Thai player Rattanakorn Maikami said: "I am a Buri Ram native and I want to win the title in my hometown. If we stick to the coach's plan and follow the tactics, we can do it."

Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Myanmar are in Group B of the M-150 Cup.

Thailand will meet Japan and North Korea again at next month's AFC U23 Championship.

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