Thailand entered the final of the U23 Southeast Asia tournament

 Thailand entered the final of the U23 Southeast Asia tournament

Coach Garcia's teachers and students defeated Laos U23 2-0 in Phnom Penh on the afternoon of February 24 to win the right to enter the championship match.

With a good psychological state and a little advantage in terms of the number of days off, Laos U23 confidently pushed up the offensive squad after the opening whistle. Coach Weiss' army deployed the ball quite coherently and did not hesitate to finish from afar as soon as there was space. However, that is not enough to beat the highly appreciated defense of Thailand U23.

After a period of time allowing the opponent to dominate, Thailand also proved its superior level by regaining control in the middle of the field and the ability to take advantage of good opportunities.

Left wing with the appearance of Niphitphon, Thawatchai is the main attack direction of "War Elephants". In the second time to stuff the ball into the second penalty area, Thailand U23 got the opening goal. In the 14th minute, the ice came out to catch the error of goalkeeper Phounin, creating conditions for Teerasak to score.

U23 Laos Thailand 1

Thailand's young players compete completely on the basis of Laos. Photo: Nguyen Khang.

After scoring the opening goal, coach Garcia's team did not attack aggressively, instead, it was a controlled play that made Laos U23 not have a chance to approach the goal. Meanwhile, the attacks on the left flank of the white army were still active and almost brought home the second goal after Thawatchai's narrow corner in the 27th minute.

In the second half, Thailand did not take long to make a difference, also from the situation on the left wing. Thawatchai's breakthrough effort brought "War Elephants" a penalty. Kroekphon hit a shot from 11 meters away to make it 2-0 in the 52nd minute.

U23 Laotian Thai brother 2

The difference between Laos U23 (red shirt) and Thailand lies in the ability to take advantage of opportunities. Photo: Nguyen Khang.

With nothing left to lose, Laos U23 rushed to attack and also created some turbulent situations. A delicious opportunity came to the team in the 54th minute. When the goal was wide open, Pinnalone hit the bar from less than 5 meters away.

After having a safe advantage, Thailand competed with many calculations to prepare for the final. Coach Garcia withdrew many pillars to rest, and at the same time asked to learn the game slowly in the home field to preserve fitness.

In the last minutes, the match was exciting again with tit-for-tat phases between the two sides. After facing the unsuccessful goalie of Aocharod (Thailand U23) in the 83rd minute, Laos U23 immediately answered with Pinnalone's dangerous cross-angle shot, but the ball also just missed the column in regret. of striker number 25.

Thailand U23 won 2-0 to have the third time to reach the final of the Southeast Asian tournament. The opponent of "War Elephants" on February 26 will be the winner of the match between U23 Vietnam and Timor Leste.