BANGKOK (2 Nov 2012) – Thailand have taken the lead in Group A of the FIFA Futsal World Cup after beating Costa Rica 3-1 in their opening tie at the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok last night.
Suphawut Thueanklang, Keattiyot Chalaemkhet and Jirawat Sornwichian were all on target as Victor Hermans’ side made the perfect start to their FIFA Futsal World Cup campaign.
“I’m very happy and proud of my team, and of the performance we showed. I hope this win gives all Thai people a boost and encourages them to come to our next match to support us from the stands. Futsal has a future in Thailand and maybe the fans can become the sixth player on the pitch,” said Victor Hermans, the chief coach of Thailand.
The hosts began the brighter of the two sides, with the speed and trickery of star forward Suphawut Thueanklang causing problems for the CONCACAF champions.
However, it was after a spell of Costa Rican pressure, and somewhat against the run of play, that the Thais took an 18th-minute lead. Predictably, Thueanklang was at the heart of the action, working the ball through unselfishly for Keattiyot Chalaemkhet to smash an emphatic right-foot shot high into the net and delight the flag-waving home fans.
Thailand’s No. 9 then went from provider to goal scorer nine minutes into the second half, crashing a ferocious left-foot shot in off the underside of the crossbar to cap a speedy breakaway. Costa Rica were creating precious little at this stage but, out of nothing, they grabbed a lifeline with three minutes remaining when Diego Zuniga sent a magnificent left-foot shot flashing into the top corner.
However, the points were secured just a minute later when Jirawat Sornwichian restored Thailand’s two-goal cushion, chipping the ball past the advancing keeper and in off the right-hand post to spark loud cheering form the enthusiastic capital crowd.
“We believe that No. 9 of Thailand is a very good player. But we also have to admit that we made too many mistakes in the game, and that’s what cost us the three points,” added Diego Solis, the chief coach of Costa Rica.
SOURCE: FIFA.com
