Don’t think too much about goals, says manager
Play
Thailand should not put themselves under pressure by thinking about plundering goals when they face Cuba in their second Group B match in the Fifa Futsal World Cup tomorrow, team manager Sarun Rungkasiri said.
The Kingdom began their fifth campaign in the World Cup Finals with a 6-4 defeat to Russia, leaving them at risk of qualifying for the second stage for the second time after reaching the last-16 round four years ago when they hosted the event.
Given that third-ranked Russia are likely to win the group, the Thais are likely to slug it out with Egypt for the last automatic qualification spot, with the African side making a strong statement of their credentials with a 1 rout of Cuba.
Though goal difference will be the decisive factor in determining the second side that follow the 2016 Euro Futsal finalists Russia into the knock-out rounds, Sarun did not want his side to be obsessed with the idea of scoring a bag of goals against the Cubans.
“We have to battle it out with Egypt to claim the runnersup spot. The fact that they beat Cuba 7-1 put us under pressure. Despite a big goal difference to make up with the Egyptians, we should not give too much importance to that. It could put us under additional pressure that would make it difficult for us to play.
“We simply need to play our game as usual. We also should rest those players who are carrying knocks. Maybe, it’s better for us to look for a win,” said Sarun.
National coach Migel Rodrigo urged his players to get over the disappointment and their campaign back on track against the Central American opponents.
“We must forget about the first game. We need to be 100 per cent ready for the Cuban fixture. We cannot underestimate any team that fought its way into the finals. We need to be focused and can’t take anything for granted,” said the 46-year-old Spaniard.
