Substitute Adisak makes decisive impact for Thailand

Substitute Adisak makes decisive impact for Thailand

Thailand striker Adisak Kraisorn celebrates after scoring against Turkmenistan.
Thailand striker Adisak Kraisorn celebrates after scoring against Turkmenistan.

Substitute Adisak Kraisorn's late goal earned Thailand a 1-0 win over Turkmenistan in a warm-up game in Si Sa Ket on Friday night.

The 31-year-old forward replaced Bodin Phala after 81 minutes and only needed seven minutes to score for the War Elephants with a fine shot from outside the penalty area.

Thailand dominated for long periods but could not break the visitors' defence until Adisak's strike.

The match was part of Thailand's preparations for next month's Asian Cup qualifying round.

The Thais will play Bahrain at BG Stadium in Pathum Thani on Tuesday before coach Mano Polking picks his 23 players for the Asian Cup qualifiers.

Thailand are in Group C along with hosts Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives in the June 8-14 Asian Cup qualifying round for the 2023 finals.

China has withdrawn from organising the 2023 Asian Cup due to Covid-19 and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is looking for a new host country.

Japan has shown interest in hosting next year's tournament.

Japan, which co-hosted Asia's first World Cup with South Korea 20 years ago, has not staged the Asian Cup since 1992.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's coach Herve Renard has signed a new five-year deal after guiding the team to this year's World Cup in Qatar.

The 53-year-old Frenchman was shown signing a shirt with the number "2027" in a video posted by the official Twitter account of the Saudi national team. Saudi Arabia is bidding to host the Asian Cup in 2027.

"We achieved our first target, let's work together for the rest," Renard said in the video, adding: "I'm here to stay."

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