Thai team beat opponent ranked 48 places lower, entered the final: Fans still criticize

On the evening of September 4, the Thai team won 3-0 against Fiji to enter the final of the King's Cup 2025. However, fans of this country were still dissatisfied and criticized the lack of cohesion in the playing style of coach Masatada Ishii and his team.

2025 is the 51st time the King's Cup is held. This is a traditional and important tournament for Thai football and coach Masatada Ishii is under pressure to help the team win the championship. Because of this, the Japanese coach also showed his seriousness when calling up famous stars with the best form of Thai football to participate in the tournament.

In the opening match against Fiji - a team 48 places below Thailand and without any matches in the past half year, coach Masatada Ishii still fielded quality players such as Ekanit Panya, Teerasak and Ben Davis.

Thailand team takes the field with an extremely strong lineup in the opening match of King's Cup 2025

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT

At the end of the first half, the Thai team led their opponents Fiji 2-0. Ben Davis and Teerasak were the players who helped the home team open the scoring with goals in the 11th and 16th minutes respectively. In the first goal, Ekanit Panya delicately returned the ball for Ben Davis to demonstrate his good finishing ability. Meanwhile, the second goal was a situation where Teerasak rushed in and kicked the ball accurately.

However, in terms of playing style, coach Masatada Ishii's players still could not satisfy the fans. Against a team with many non-professional players, the Thai team only had 5 shots on target. The "War Elephants" rarely deployed short passing style of play, mainly relying on the ability of individuals to shine to approach Fiji's goal. Not only that, in defense, the Thai team did not play well, under a lot of pressure from Fiji's high balls. Even in the 28th minute, Wasasala made Thai fans gasp with a very strong shot, hitting the crossbar.

As soon as the first half ended, the way the Thai team played was criticized. Pracha Nia-oan wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “The Thai players are wasting time. The score is beautiful but the way they play is not cohesive. It is no surprise that the Thai team will be tired when facing stronger teams.”

Meanwhile, Natthawut Thongprom wrote: “With this style of play, I don’t know how the Thai team will fare. The gameplay is so boring, even in the last 20 minutes, the opponent Fiji overwhelmed us.”

The Thai team has yet to show convincing play despite their opponent Fiji being 48 places lower.

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT

Coach Masatada Ishii expressed disappointment with the handling of situations by the Thai team.

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT

In the second half, the Thai team made many changes in their formation, and the speed in the ball deployment was also increased. It only took 3 minutes for Poramet to make a beautiful shot, raising the score to 3-0.

However, after this goal, the Thai team suddenly lost control of the game, allowing Fiji to shoot 8 times. Fortunately for the Thai team, they still kept their net intact until the end of the match when the Fuji team's strikers lacked precision in their finishing situations.

Beating Fiji 3-0, the Thai team entered the final of the 2025 King's Cup. Coach Masatada Ishii and his team will face Iraq - the team that defeated Hong Kong 2-1 in the early match.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-thai-lan-thang-doi-thu-kem-48-bac-vao-chung-ket-cdv-van-chi-trich-185250904213720216.htm