Rajevac says team raised its defensive game
National football coach Milovan Rajevac was content with the steady improvement his side has made as the Kingdom defended the King’s Cup sucฌcessfully at the Rajamangala National Stadium on Sunday.
The Serbian, now in his third month as the coach of the team, celebrated his first title when the reigning champions clinched a shootout against Belarus 54 in front of a jubilant crowd estimated at 22,000.
Thailand did not concede a single goal in the tournament, blanking North Korea 30 in the semifinal on Friday. It was an impressive turnaround by the hosts, who under Rajevac had previously lost to Uzbekistan 20 in a friendly match and drew 11 with the United Arab Emirates in the World Cup Qualifiers.
“I cannot rate it percentage wise but the team has improved in the past few months and won the King’s Cup. Thailand have taken their defensive game to another level,” said Rajevac durฌing a team visit to a sponsor yesterday.
“We didn’t concede a goal in the last two games in the King’s Cup, which is a new dimension for Thai football. I’m satisfied with the performance of the team but there are still several areas which need to be improved,” he said.
Rajevac will now welcome absentees Teerasil Dangda, Chanatip Songkrasin and Tristan Do, who withdrew from the Cup due to health concerns, with open arms into the team for the two remaining World Cup Qualifiers games against Iraq and Australia.
“It all depends on the players. If they put in impressive performances with their clubs, they’ll get a chance to be includฌed in the team later,” the Serbian said. Meanwhile, football chief Somyot Poompanmuang said the Thai team will be rewarded with Bt5 million for winning the King’s Cup.
