“Just as Malaysia has placed great hopes, I believe we too have the capability to emulate our feats in previous SEA Games,” said Worrawoot Srimakha, a former striker with the Thai national team.
“We had just a week of centralised training before coming here. Nevertheless, we have always been respectful of our brand of football and our game. The players are motivated to keep the momentum going,” he said, adding that he has respects for other teams and believes they are equally prepared for the KL2017 challenge.
The Thais have won the SEA Games football gold medal 15 times, silver four times and bronze five times since 1969. Drawn in Group B, the Thais have for company Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Timor Leste and the Philippines while six-time champions and host Malaysia are in Group A with Myanmar, Singapore, Laos and Brunei.
Fans will be looking forward to Thailand’s first match against Indonesia on August 15 at Shah Alam Stadium (4pm) before meeting Timor Leste (Aug 17), Cambodia (Aug 20), Philippines (Aug 22) before wrapping the preliminary round fixtures against Vietnam on Aug 24 at the Selayang Stadium.
