Polking lavishes praise on his men after Estonia draw
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Polking lavishes praise on his men after Estonia draw

Thailand's Jakkapan Praisuwan, second right, celebrates with teammates after scoring against Estonia in Tallinn.
Thailand's Jakkapan Praisuwan, second right, celebrates with teammates after scoring against Estonia in Tallinn.

Thailand coach Mano Polking praised his men for putting on a "good" show in a friendly with Estonia which ended in a 1-1 draw on Tuesday night.

The Thais, hammered 8-0 by Georgia in a warm-up game last Thursday, owed the upshot to a Jakkapan Praisuwan header which secured the draw in Tallinn.

Polking said: "We have to praise every player for the good show [against Estonia].

"After we lost to Georgia, we were eager to come up with a good result for Thai football fans.

"We have several new faces in this squad and everyone did his best. We have a result that is better than the previous match.

"During the first half, we did quite well but Estonia made three changes after the break and started making things difficult for us during the first 10 minutes of the second half.

"We then decided to send in three new players as well to replace some tired legs and came back into the game. It was a close affair in the second half.

"We came from a hot country and here it was only 4-5C so it wasn't easy for us especially in the first match. We only had a day to prepare the team to face a strong team. We just couldn't adjust to the situation in Georgia.

"We had many days to train and get used to the weather here in Estonia which made the players feel more comfortable.

"I am happy with the good result and the good fighting spirit we showed in this game."

Estonia's goal came in the 71st minute from former Muang Thong United striker Henri Anier.

The War Elephants levelled the score in the 76th minute when Bordin Phala expertly delivered a precision pass, allowing Jakkapan to execute a superb header into the net.

Thailand will next take part in Asia's 2026 Fifa World Cup second round qualifiers, hosting China at Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium on Nov 16.

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