Thai soccer team plays it cool in Brunei

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (JP): Defending champion Thailand opted to play it cool when asked about its chances of retaining its title in soccer at the 20th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, saying Indonesia, who it beat two years ago, had much improved.

"Indonesia is a very strong team, and I expect it to reach the semifinals. If we meet there, I think we should work hard to win the match," Thailand's team manager Virach Chanpanich told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Virach said Thailand would have to keep an eye on three Indonesian key players: Rocky Puttiray, Ali Sunan and Bima Sakti.

"They are good players as far as I saw when they played Singapore on Friday," he said.

Playing before an opposing crowd in 1997, Thailand dashed Indonesia's hopes of recovering its soccer supremacy in the region in a penalty shootout. Indonesia last clinched the gold medal in 1989, and several times since has fallen to the Thais at the last hurdle.

Virach said his team would labor hard to win every match during the Games. The team had a series of warm-up matches in Europe prior to the biennial event.

"It is difficult to score goals during the matches here. It is different from our tryouts against some European clubs."

Thailand's SEA Games team sprang a surprise with a 4-3 win over English premiership runner-up Arsenal, beat Notts County 2-0 and Uzbekistan 1-0 during a six-week overseas stint. Thailand also played Brazil, who beat it 2-0.

Thailand led Vietnam in Group A on goal difference. Both have collected seven points to virtually secure semifinal berths with a match left to play.

On Sunday, Vietnam will face the Philippines while Thailand is to play Myanmar to decide which team will finish first in the group. The group winner will play the Group B runner-up, either Indonesia or Singapore, in the semifinals.

Myanmar will qualify for the semifinals only if it beats Thailand by nine goals.

Virach said Thailand was likely to finish second in the group, citing Myanmar's tough opposition.

"Myanmar is a strong team. It will take us to the limit to score. Vietnam will play an easier match and will try to hit the net as many times as possible to top the standings," he said.

In Group B, Indonesia and Singapore will play their last matches on Monday, which will also determine the group's winner. Indonesia will face host Brunei Darussalam while Singapore will take on Cambodia. (ivy)