Ishii to make a call on veteran stars soon
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Ishii to make a call on veteran stars soon

Tough test: Masatada Ishii.
Tough test: Masatada Ishii.

Thailand national football team coach Masatada Ishii is still undecided on a role for veteran striker Teerasil Dandga and playmaker Chanathip Songkrasin in Tuesday's must-win Group C 2026 World Cup qualifier against Singapore.

The War Elephants need a big victory over Singapore at Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium to have any hope of qualifying for the third and final stage of the Asian zone qualifiers for the World Cup.

The Thais managed to claim one point from their Thursday's clash with China, who face group leaders South Korea on Tuesday.

South Korea have 13 points, followed by China on eight and Thailand on five points. Singapore are at the bottom of the table with only one point.

The top two teams in each of nine groups will advance to the next stage, leaving China needing a draw against South Korea to secure their place in the next phase.

Ishii said: "We wanted three points from the match against China but we couldn't do it. Now we have to prepare the team and make sure that we do score a victory in our last Group C game with Singapore.

"We have to learn from the mistakes we made in the China match and get ready for the next game.

"I need some more time to make up my mind whether to play with Mui [Teerasil] and Jay [Chanathip] in Tuesday's match or not.

"I think we will be better off opting for fitter players with better stamina. Let's see how things go in training."

"We must find a way to stop Singapore from scoring. I have already apologised for the reasons that made us concede the equaliser against China," add the 57-year-old Japanese coach.

The match will kick off at 7:30pm and will be televised live by Thai Rath TV (32).

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