Defending champions Thailand will face the Philippines in the semi-finals on a home-and-away basis with the War Elephants playing away on Friday (Dec 27) at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila before returning home for the second leg at Rajamangala National Stadium three days later, reports the Bangkok Post.
“This team have a mix of new and veteran players and there are things that they need to improve because we concede goals too easily,” Chanathip said at a press conference yesterday (Dec 23).
“The team will have some time off before the semi-finals and I’m confident we will be able to retain the title,” added Chanathip, who won the Asean Championship three times (2014, 2016 and 2020).
The BG Pathum United midfielder also explained that having Benjamin Davis, Supachok Sarachat and Ekanit Panya in the team will be key to Thailand’s success.
“Of course having Benjamin, Ekanit and Supachok for the semi-finals will be very important to our title defence. They all are great players with huge talent.”
After learning that Thailand will face the Philippines away in the first game of the semi-finals, Japanese coach Masatada Ishii has switched the training venue to Bangkok Thonburi University, which has an artificial turf, the same as the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Thailand midfielder Worachit Kanitsribumphen believes that the War Elephants will have no problems with the artificial grass surface.
“I am not saying that we won’t have any problems playing on the artificial pitch, but I think we will adjust to it if we train well. I don’t think it will be a cause for any major concern for us,” said Worachit.
“The Philippines have a number of foreign-based stars and their players have good potential. We need to avoid making any mistakes against them. If we can do that, I am sure we will win the away leg of the semi-final.
“It is in fact good that we are playing the first game away. We can count on home support in the second leg and accomplish whatever is needed to be done.
“Even if we end up with a draw on the artificial pitch, we will still have the home ground advantage in the second leg to make amends.”
The Philippines booked their last-four berth after they edged 10-man Indonesia 1-0 on Saturday to finish second in Group B while Vietnam hammered Myanmar 5-0 to top the group.
Thailand finished on top of Group A, winning all four matches against Timor Leste, Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia.
Vietnam face Singapore in the other semi-finals. Singapore will host the first leg on Dec 26 and Vietnam will play a home game on Dec 29.
The winners from the two semi-finals will face off in the two-leg final on Jan 2 and 5.
Friday’s semi-final first leg will kick off at 8pm (Thai time) and will be televised live by Thai Rath TV (32), AIS Play, True Sport 2 (667) and the BG Sports channel on YouTube.