WOMEN’S FOOTBALL: NO ASEAN TEAMS IN SEMI-FINALS OF ASIAN CUP

Thailand started their campaign in Group A with a 3-0 loss to DPR Korea while Myanmar were whitewashed by Japan 8-0 in the same group.

In the second match, Japan beat Thailand 4-0 as DPR Korea slip past Myanmar 2-0.

The Thais picked up their only win in the competition with a 2-0 win over Myanmar.

But in spite of falling short of target, Thailand chief coach Jatuporn Pramolbal was still pleased with the performance of his chargers – especially when they ended their campaign with a win off goals from captain Junpen Seesraum and Waranya Chaikantree.

“We won, but Myanmar fought very hard and are a very strong team. We were lucky to win. We had a lot of chances and did not score, while Myanmar fought very hard,” said Jatuporn.

“We are evenly matched with Myanmar and they are a very difficult side to play especially as they defended when they only had 10 players. But we concentrated and got the win.

“We are playing at the top level in Asia and it is a good chance to get experience. We are a young team and I believe we can be one of the top five teams in Asia.

“We wanted to get four points and maybe even six, but we were in a group with the best two teams in Asia and it was very hard. We nearly achieved our goal and I am pleased.”

Replied Myo Myint Htwe, the chief coach of Myanmar: “ We are not happy with the result of the tournament. We have used a lot of new players and they have gained a lot of valuable experience, but we are not happy with the overall result.

“Our new talented players got a lot of good experience playing against several good teams, but we are unhappy as we failed to score in the tournament and we also lost every match, this is not good for us.”

In Group B, Vietnam did not fare any better as they began their campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Australia and then an identical 5-0 losses to both hosts China and South Korea.