Courtesy: The Nation


We gave Russians too much respect: coach Rodrigo

September 12, 2016

National coach Miguel Rodrigo blamed his players for giving Russia too much respect as Thailand began their Fifa Futsal World Cup campaign with a 6-4 defeat in a Group B match in Medellin, Colombia, yesterday.

The Russians, ranked third, cruised to a comfortable win after jumping to a 3-0 lead in little over 25 minutes. Suphawut Thueanklang, who scored the goal of the tournament in the previous edition here in Thailand four years ago, pulled a goal back for his side before half-time.

Two quick-fire goals early after the break from Jirawat Sornwichian and Apiwat Chaemcharoen helped the Thais restore parity. Russia, however, scored three more goals via a pair of free kicks and a penalty as Thailand paid a heavy price for poor defending.

Jetsada Chudech gave his side a lifeline with seven minutes remaining, as the Thais heaped pressure on the Russians but the 2016 Futsal Euro finalists held onto the result to put down an early marker for their title credentials. Rodrigo pointed out that his side, who were making their fifth appearance in the finals, lost because they were in awe of their more illustrious European opponents.

"We did a good job under the circumstances," the Spaniard said after the match. "We should have pressed them high up. But, we were in awe of them so we failed to do that in the first half. "We should have tipped the balance in our favour when we pegged them back at 3-3. If the opposition were not the Russians, we could have overtaken them.

"But our players gave them too much respect so we were unable to keep them under constant pressure. Russia beat us because they are an experienced side. We need to learn to get better."

The Spaniard, however, was hopeful that his charges would bounce back from the early setback when they next play Cuba on Wednesday (Bangkok time), who found themselves on the receiving end of a 7-1 rout by Egypt in the group's other match.


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com