Title in War Elephants' sight

Title in War Elephants' sight

Thailand's Teerasak Poeiphimai, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Myanmar with Jonathan Khemdee. PR
Thailand's Teerasak Poeiphimai, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Myanmar with Jonathan Khemdee. PR

Thailand are "one step away" from grabbing their first men's football gold medal of the SEA Games since 2017.

The national U22 team claimed a 3-0 victory over Myanmar in the semi-finals on Saturday night to set up a final with Indonesia.

The Indonesians pulled off a big surprise on Saturday as they shattered Vietnam's dream of completing a hat-trick of the titles with a 3-2 victory.

The title showdown and the third-place play-off are scheduled to be played tomorrow in Phnom Penh.

The War Elephants got the goals from Teerasak Poeiphimai (37), Leon James (85) and Anan Yodsangwal (90+7) as they outplayed Myanmar.

Thailand U22 coach Issara Sritaro told the media after the semi-final that his main worry remained players' fitness.

"We are only one step away from the gold medal," said Issara.

"We have to keep an eye on the fitness of players. We played the semi-final only after a day's rest and most of the players seemed exhausted during the match with Myanmar.

"The semi-final came after a gruelling battle with Vietnam and it was a soft pitch which played a big role in draining energy out of the players.

"Many of our strong points were never on display in the match because the players were all fatigued. There was no fluency in our short passing game."

Issara also praised Indonesia, saying: "I am not surprised that they beat Vietnam and are in the final.

"They are quick and a good all-round team, but we need to focus on our own game more than anything else.

"As I said our main task to is to get as many key players as possible ready for the final. We only have two days to achieve that.

"The team selection and tactics would mainly depend on which players are fit and ready to start.

"We are in the final and anything can happen."

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