Rodrigo unhappy with Thailand’s display
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National coach Miguel Rodrigo was less than pleased with his team’s display even though they managed to revive their Fifa Futsal World Cup campaign with a 8-5 comeback win over Cuba in their second Group B match in Colombia yesterday.
After slumping to a 6-4 defeat against third-ranked Russia in the group opener, the Thai side needed nothing less than a win against the Cubans, regarded as the weakest team in the section, to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stages for the second time in the finals.
Given that Cuba were swept aside 7-1 by Egypt, it was expected that the Thais making a fifth appearance in the tournament would find little resistance against the Central American opponents, who qualified for the finals as Concacaf’s fourth-placed team.
Rodrigo’s side found themselves 5-4 behind early in the second half before two goals in barely three minutes from Jetsada Chudech and captain Kritsada Wongkaeo set them on the way to an otherwise unconvincing win.
The result lifted the Thai side to the second spot ahead of Egypt on goal difference after the African side suffered a 6-1 loss to Russia.
However, the 46-year-old Spanish coach said his players had much work to do prior to the decisive clash against the Egyptians, which will determine who will secure the remaining automatic qualification spot after Russia already guaranteed themselves by becoming the group’s winners.
“I’m not happy with the fact that we gave away goals too easily. We seemed to lack concentration as well. But, I’m pleased that we managed to come from behind to secure a win.
“We played nowhere near our standards.
“We need to improve our defence,” Rodrigo said as he looked to match the feat the Thais achieved four years ago by reaching the last-16 of the 24-team tournament in Thailand.
Should Thailand miss out on a runners-up spot, they could still make it through the next round as one of the four best third-placed teams.
