Despite lower rank, Thais show true strength by beating Azkals

An AFF Suzuki Cup between Philippines and Thailand at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

BOCAUE— At the end of the day, Thailand is still number one.

That’s what coach Kiatisuk Senamuang wanted to showcase despite resting majority of his usual starters for the match against the Philippines on Friday in the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup at Philippine Sports Stadium here.

“We rested our players and we showed how deep our team is, and I know we have great players in our lineup,” he said after the War Elephants’ 1-0 victory over the Azkals.

READ: Azkals lose to Thais, bomb out of Suzuki Cup at home

Sarawut Masuk squeaked in a late goal at the 81st minute to break the hearts of the Filipinos in attendance.

Over at Rizal Memorial Stadium, Stefano Lillipaly gave Indonesia a 2-1 win in the 85th minute of its duel against Singapore to snag the second spot in Group A and advance to the semifinals, completing the devastating 10 minutes for the hosts.

Kiatisuk also shared that the win is a statement that Thailand is still the best team in the region despite what the Fifa rankings show.

“Today, we wanted to show the ASEAN how strong we are. We want to look at the Fifa ranking and show that we can beat number one team in the ASEAN,” he said.

The Philippines is placed at 117 in the latest rankings, 12th in Asia and top in Southeast Asia.

Thailand, meanwhile, is at 129, tied with Vietnam as the 15th best team in the continent.

With the group stages now over, the War Elephants shift their attention to the bigger goal, which is to retain their title in the biennial meet.

Kiatisuk said: “We wanted the full three points in this match, the same way we wanted in our past matches. Our goal never changes, and our forecast is to be the champion.”