Thailand suffered a heavy defeat in the debut match of the Japanese coach.

Japan Under the first leadership of coach Masatada Ishii, Thailand lost 0-5 to Japan in a friendly match today, January 1.

*Goals scored: Ao Tanaka 50', Nakamura 72', Elias Doloh 75' (own goal), Kawamura 82', Minamino 90'+1.

Both teams were without their strongest squads for the pre-Asian Cup friendly, which was also the Toyo Tires Cup friendly at Japan's National Stadium. The hosts were without players playing in England and several other stars in Europe, either due to not being able to join the team or due to injury, while Thailand were without Theerathon Bunmathan, Chanathip Songkrasin or Teerasil Dangda.

Jaroensak (red) dribbles the ball while being tackled by an opponent, at the Japan National Stadium on January 1. Photo: WF

In the 50th minute, Japan opened the scoring with a shot from Ao Tanaka in the penalty area. Keito Nakamura hit the post 10 minutes later. In the following minutes, Doan and Minamino had good chances but could not beat goalkeeper Patiwat Khammai.

Things got easier for Japan when Nakamura doubled the lead from a rebound in the 72nd minute. Two minutes later, Elias Doloh accidentally scored an own goal from a corner kick, leaving Thailand in the lurch. Japan added two more goals in the remaining minutes, with Kawamura heading the ball in and Takumi Minamino flicking the ball in.

Japanese players celebrate Minamino's (right, No. 8) goal that sealed the 5-0 victory. Photo: WF

A 0-5 loss was not a surprising result for Thailand, given that the team lacked many key players who had played in Japan. In his debut match, coach Ishii also left a few names on the bench such as Supachok, Ekanit Panya, Phitiwat, Sarach Yooyen and Sivaruck Tedsungnoen. This was also the only practice match for Ishii and his team before the Asian Cup.

In front of nearly 70,000 spectators, Japan extended its winning streak to nine matches, starting from June 2023. This is the longest winning streak in the history of the Japanese national team. The victory at the beginning of the year also gave Hajime Moriyasu and his team more confidence before the Asian Cup - a tournament they have not won since 2011. In this year's group stage, Japan was placed with Iraq, Indonesia and Vietnam. Sharing the same group with two Southeast Asian teams is also the reason Moriyasu and his team chose Thailand as their "blue team" on January 1.

Starting lineup

Japan: Zion Suzuki, Fujii, Maikuma, Machida, Morishita, Junya Ito, Ryotaro Ito, Kaishu Sano, Okunuki, Ao Tanaka, Mao Hosoya

Thailand: Revolution Khammai, Youssef Elias Doloh, Kritsada Kaman, Teerasak Peipimai, Bodin Phala, Nicholas Kengkhetkit Mickelson, Charoensak Wongkorn, Phicha Uthra, Pathompon Charoenrattanapirom, Suphanan Burirat, Weerathep Pomphan.

Vy Anh

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