Thais, Bahrain face off as Asian Cup qualifiers loom

Thais, Bahrain face off as Asian Cup qualifiers loom

Thailand striker Adisak Kraisorn (centre) attends a training session on Monday.
Thailand striker Adisak Kraisorn (centre) attends a training session on Monday.

Thailand will play Bahrain in a warm-up match on Tuesday as part of their preparations for the AFC Asian Cup qualifying round.

The game kicks off at 7pm at BG Stadium in Pathum Thani.

The War Elephants are in confident mood after defeating Turkmenistan 1-0 in their previous warm-up game last week. Substitute Adisak Kraisorn scored the winner two minutes from time.

Thailand coach Mano Polking said on Monday his men face a tough assignment against Bahrain who he said are a top Asian side.

"After we beat Turkmenistan, our players look confident," he said.

Although he is without some key players including playmaker Chanathip Songkrasin, who is nursing an injury, and forward Ekanit Panya, who is with the U23 squad, he has other players to replace them, he said.

While Adisak failed to shine at his club Port in the 2021-22 season, he often plays well for the national side, Polking said.

"This will be our last warm-up game before we fly to Uzbekistan so I hope fans will come to cheer us at the stadium," said Polking.

At the Asian Cup qualifiers, Thailand are in Group C with hosts Uzbekistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

The Thais will face Maldives or June 8, Sri Lanka on June 11 and Uzbekistan on June 14.

The six group winners and five best runners-up qualify for the 2023 finals.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is still looking for a new host country after China withdrew from orgainsing the tournament due to Covid.

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