THAILAND CONFIDENT; AUSTRALIA GAINING MOMENTUM

Thailand head coach Chalermvud Sangnapol did not want to reveal too much on his tactical plans for the final but believe that his team has what it takes to take on the physically stronger Aussies.

“We know which players we have to cross out, so it is definitely a game which we will have to work hard and focus throughout the 90 minutes,” said Chalermvud.

“There were some things which we needed to improve on from the semi-finals (against Malaysia). Against Australia, we can ill afford to make the same mistakes.

“They have better quality players and we need to be more aware.”

Thailand, who have only picked up three yellow cards thus far in the competition, will have all available men for the final including hardworking captain Surachet Ngamtip.

For Australia, they will be hoping to bank on the momentum they have built over the last few games to carry them through to the final.

Head coach Johannes Versleijen admitted that the team struggled in the preliminary matches but felt that their semi-final performance against Vietnam is laudable.

“We are getting better as a team and I think that we can expect a much better performance in the final against Thailand,” added Johannes.

“We have played against them before (in the group stage which ended in a 1-1 draw) but I think that the final game will be different.

“We won the AFF U19 meet last year, so we are hoping that we can win it again this time round.”

FIXTURES and RESULTS

4 August 2009
Thanh Long Centre –
AUSTRALIA 1 SINGAPORE 1/ MYANMAR 3 TIMOR LESTE 0

Thong Nhat Stadium –
CAMBODIA 0 THAILAND 3/ MALAYSIA 0 VIETNAM 2

6 August 2009
Thanh Long Centre –
TIMOR LESTE 1 MALAYSIA 7/ SINGAPORE 3 CAMBODIA 1

Thong Nhat Stadium –
THAILAND 1 AUSTRALIA 1/ VIETNAM 3 MYANMAR 1

8 August 2009
Thanh Long Centre –
CAMBODIA 0 AUSTRALIA 3 / MALAYSIA 2 MYANMAR 0

Thong Nhat Stadium –
THAILAND 1 SINGAPORE 0/ VIETNAM 3 TIMOR LESTE 1

10 August 2009
Thong Nhat Stadium –
Semi-finals 1 – THAILAND 1 MALAYSIA 0
Semi-finals 2 – VIETNAM 1 AUSTRALIA 4

12 August 2009
Thong Nhat Stadium –
3rd / 4th Placing – Malaysia vs Vietnam (1530)

Final – Thailand vs. Australia (1745)