Thailand national football team newly appointed coach Surachai Jaturapattarapong claims that Iran which has a few problems, is not much stronger than Bahrain team that they played on Thursday and beat 1-0!.
The Thai coach was speaking after his first match in control and registering a win against Bahrain in the friendly match in Bangkok. The highly confiden coach said that his team is capable of defeating Iran in Tehran despite the absence of some key players.
Thailand will be without the influential Burriram United midfield player Jakkraphan Kaewprom who is injured and could not make the trip to Tehran. Jakkraphan expressed his bitter disappointment that he could not accompany the team for this important match in Azadi, however he was consoled by the new coach who assured him that there will be other chances for him in the near future. Suree Sukha is another experienced player who could not make the trip.
Coach Surachai said that he is not expecting an easy match against Iran but the improvement he has noticed in his own team makes him quite hopeful of a satisfactory result in Teahran “We need to be better against the Iranians, especially the accuracy of passing and shooting. These two areas require concentration. I have never lost to Iran during my playing days and I have no reason to fear them. I hope my record gives my player confidence.” The coach said.
Continuing his confident theme , he said “We played well against Bahrain and won. I believe Iran is not that much stronger than Bahrain. Iran team has its own problem (…)”
The 43 year old coach whose nickname is “Nguan” is a former midfield player who played for the Thai national team 86 times scoring 7 goals. he managed Chainat team before invited to join the national squad as an assistant to the German Winfried Schaefer.
That said, Thailand has failed to win a single match in the group beaten by Kuwait and Lebanon and lying at the bottom of the table. Despite what the Thai coach claims, his job will be extremely difficult against a much stronger Iranian team that has qualified to the World Cup, a point that the Thai coach is probably not aware of. Thailand has never beaten Iran in an official or friendly matches.
Iran and Thailand will be meeting on the 15th October in Azadi stadium in Day three of AFC Asian Cup 2015 qualification round.
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IRAN vs. THAILAND Head to Head results
| Date | Competetion. | H / A / N | Final score | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03.03.2010 | Asian Cup Qualifier | H | 1 - 0 | Azadi Stadium - Tehran | 9,000 |
| 28.01.2009 | Asian Cup Qualifier | A | 0 - 0 | Rajamangala Stadium , Bangkok | 10,000 |
| 20.07.2004 | Asian Cup / Group D | N | 3 - 0 | Olympics Sport Centre , Chongqing | 30,000 |
| 05.10.2001 | World Cup Qualifier | H | 1 - 0 | Azadi - Tehran | 60,000 |
| 01.09.2001 | World Cup Qualifier | A | 0 - 0 | Rajamangla Stadium , Bangkok | 45,000 |
| 15.10.2000 | Asian Cup / Group A | N | 1 - 1 | Sport City , Beirut | 10,000 |
| 09.12.1996 | Asian Cup / Group B | N | 3 - 1 | Al-Maktoum Stadium , Dubai | 12,000 |
| 30.05.1989 | World Cup Qualifier | H | 3 - 0 | Azadi - Tehran | 55,000 |
| 23.02.1989 | World Cup Qualifier | A | 3 - 0 | Bangkok | 25,000 |
| 20.09.1986 | Friendly | N | 4 - 0 | Seoul | ? |
| 11.08.1984 | Asian Cup Qualifier | N | 5 - 0 | Siniayan Stadium , Jakarta | 15,000 |
| 12.05.1972 | Asian Cup | A | 3 - 2 | Bangkok | 25,000 |
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| H/A/N | Matches | W | D | L | Golas | Goad Diff. |
| Home | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 – 0 | +5 |
| Away | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 – 2 | +4 |
| Neutral | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 16 – 2 | +14 |
| Total | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 27 – 2 | +23 |