Thai newspaper: Supachok should return the ball to Vietnam

Siam Sport newspaper affirmed that Supachok Sarachat played without fair play, and pointed out many mistakes of the Thai team when they lost to Vietnam in the final of the ASEAN Cup 2024 on the evening of January 5 (Hanoi time).

The Thai team suffered great pain when they only won the runner-up position in the 2024 ASEAN Cup, losing to Vietnam 2-3 at home (3-5 aggregate score after 2 matches). In the post-match analysis, Siam Sport newspaper exposed many serious mistakes of the “War Elephants”.

Supachok’s beautiful long-range shot left Dinh Trieu unable to block. Photo: Bao Ngoc .

Supachok’s goal shouldn’t have happened.

At Rajamangala Stadium, the situation where Supachok Sarachat scored to make the score 2-1 caused fierce controversy. The referee was not wrong to recognize the goal, but in the spirit of fair-play, Supachok should have returned the ball to Vietnam.

The incident began when goalkeeper Nguyen Dinh Trieu threw the ball out of bounds so his teammate could receive medical attention. But instead of returning the ball, Thailand took a throw-in and passed the ball to Supachok, who then shot the ball straight into the goal with a beautiful trajectory.

Although it did not violate the rules, this action made Vietnam more determined and made the match more tense. Fair-play is not a rule, but a noble spirit in football.

Throughout the 90 minutes, the main referee, Korean Ko Hyung-jin, also made many controversial decisions. Statistics show that Thailand committed 11 fouls, while Vietnam only committed 3, but the decisive moments were not handled fairly.

In the first minute of the match, Pham Tuan Hai made a dangerous tackle on Jonathan Khemdee, but only received a yellow card, although slow-motion replays showed that the situation deserved a red card. Before Weerathep’s red card, Supachok was fouled twice in a row, but the referee ignored it. In the last minute of the match, Suphanan Bureerat was fouled in the penalty area, but VAR did not intervene.

The three outstanding situations above show that if there were referees of international standards, the outcome of the match could have been different.

Thailand team had an unsuccessful tournament. Photo: Bao Ngoc .

Thailand team had an unsuccessful tournament. Photo: Bao Ngoc .

Mistake after mistake

Thailand coach Masatada Ishii seemed to be too focused on Nguyen Xuan Son, leading to the arrangement of many players to mark the naturalized Brazilian striker. This opened up a large gap for Vietnam to score the opening goal 1-0.

In the 2-2 equalizer, Suphanan Bureerat lost his position because he rushed into a dispute, creating a deadly gap in the area he was responsible for. The final goal was hard to blame anyone, because Thailand was forced to push up to find a goal.

However, conceding 12 goals in the entire tournament shows that Thailand’s defense really has problems. This is the first time in the history of the ASEAN Cup that Thailand has conceded more than 10 goals.

Thailand’s squad for the 2024 ASEAN Cup is not the strongest, but with a football background that has the region’s top national championship, such mistakes are unacceptable. In particular, even when Xuan Son only played 32 minutes in the second leg, the Thai defense was still in disarray.

This is a “big problem” that coach Ishii needs to solve. Otherwise, Thailand’s FIFA ranking could be surpassed by Vietnam and Indonesia in the near future.

Another important highlight was Weerathep Pomphan’s red card in the 74th minute, after receiving a second yellow card for a foul. Before that, it could be seen that Weerathep was caught up in emotions, because he witnessed Supachok being fouled by a Vietnamese player right in front of him but the referee did not blow the whistle. This caused Weerathep to lose his composure and lead to an unnecessary foul.

In the final match of the tournament, playing with one less man left Thailand with almost no chance of winning, especially when the players were exhausted due to the tight schedule. This red card was certainly a big lesson for Weerathep and was also the key factor that prevented Thailand from defending the championship.

Finally, one of the biggest problems for coach Masatada Ishii was inappropriate substitutions, especially in the final. Benjamin Davis, who was a standout performer and disrupted the Vietnamese defense, was substituted too early. Meanwhile, Sakesan Ratri, despite playing all eight matches, failed to make a significant impact. Worachit Kanitsribampen, a creative player, was not used much despite proving his ability in previous matches.

Coach Ishii had to manage with a squad that was not the strongest, but his personnel management was not optimal, leading to an unfortunate defeat.

The 2024 ASEAN Cup is a big lesson for Thai football. They need to improve their defense, fair-play spirit and ability to handle situations in big matches. Only when these problems are solved can the “War Elephants” return to the top of the region.

On the evening of January 5, the Vietnam team defeated Thailand 3-2 in the second leg of the final, thereby winning the ASEAN Cup 2024.