Thailand’s football team plays Iran today, and they’ll need at least a point for any hope of kickstarting their AFC Asian Cup qualifying campaign.
The match will be Surachai Jaturapattarapong’s first competitive game as national coach and Thailand, who are rooted to the bottom of Group B having lost 3-1 at home to Kuwait and 5-2 at Lebanon in their first two games, will be hoping to secure their first AFC Asian Cup qualifying points.
“It’s a very important match for us,” Surachai said. “We know Iran are very strong; they have already qualified for the World Cup. We don’t have any points so far, and while we know Iran are the better side, we are confident to seize a point from Iran.”
Thailand are unbeaten in their last two games having recorded friendly wins over China and Bahrain, but they have never defeated Iran in their previous 12 meetings, drawing three, losing nine and scoring just four goals, The Nation reported.
Goalkeeper Sinthaweechai Hathairattanakool will captain the side with star striker Teerasil Dangda leading the attack alongside Chatree Chimtalay, reported Bangkok Post.
The match will be played at the 100,000-capacity Azadi Stadium in Iran. TrueVisions’ Truesport2 channel will televise the match live beginning at 10:30pm.
