The final at Rajamangala National Stadium ended in a goalless draw in 90 minutes, and the Thais kept their cool to edge Belarus 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out to retain the King’s Cup.
Earlier, Burkina Faso claimed third place after beating North Korea 4-3 on penalties after a 3-3 draw at full-time.
Under the tournament regulations, a penalty shoot-out is called if a game ended in a draw after 90 minutes.
Teerathep Winothai, Philip Roller, Theerathon Bunmathan, Thittiphan Puanjan and Siroch Chatthong converted from the spot for Thailand, while defender Peerapat Notechaiya was the home team’s only player to send his shot over the bar.
While some have hailed Siroch for staying calm and converting his “first-ever penalty kick”, the real hero of the night for the War Elephants was goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan.
After warding off a number of attacks during regulation time, captain Kawin spectacularly denied Belarus’ Yaueni Klapotski and Artslom Skitau in the shoot-out to tip the balance in Thailand’s favour.
The four scorers for Belarus were Pavel Savitski, Artsem Salavei, Yauheni Shauchenka and Zakhar Volkau.
Rajevac, who took over as Thailand’s coach in May, said, “We have won the trophy and it is good to see so many smiling faces around.
“We only had a day’s rest in between the matches and the players were tired after their 3-0 win over the North Koreans in the first match [last Friday].
“The most pleasing thing about this tournament is that we did not concede a goal in open play in our two games. I believe this is a new thing for Thai football.
“Now that our defence is strong enough, I will focus on improving the team’s offence.
“Belarus played well today but it was a close contest. We had a bit of luck in winning the match in the penalty shoot-out.
“We knew a penalty shoot-out was a big possibility, so we had practised spot kicks before the match.”
Football Association of Thailand president Pol Gen Somyot Poompunmuang said after the match, “I congratulate the Thai people together with the players and the coaching staff on winning the title again.
“Today we beat Belarus and I hope that we will be able to maintain our high standards in our future assignments as well.”
Striker Teerathep, who is on a comeback trail at 32, said, “We have done our duty to the country. This event belongs to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and I believe he watched us from heaven tonight and smiled at us.
“Playing for the national team has made me feel like a 14-year-old again. I am still fresh and happy to play for the national team, but it all depends on the coach.”
Siroch, meanwhile, refused to take credit for the victory, saying it was “a great team effort”.
He scored both goals in Thailand’s home leg of the 2016 Suzuki Cup final in December to help them retain the title.
However, he has been without a goal in all competitions since. Goals scored in penalty shoot-outs are not added to a player’s personal tally.
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