Thailand secured their place amongst the FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016 knockout stages with a 2-1 win over Egypt.
With so much riding on this game, with Thailand only ahead in second on goals scored, the stakes seemed to weigh both sides down, as poor decisions and poor execution limited either’s opportunities to take their future into their own hands.
This was typified by the showings of star names Suphawut Thuenkland and Ahmed Moza, whose wayward shooting was in stark contrast to moments of class they’ve shown so far in Colombia. The opening goal was a perfect reflection of the game, flicking in off the unfortunate Ibrahim Eika’s knee to hand Thailand the lead. The fact Egypt led the shots on target 2-0 at half-time said it all.
But Miguel Conde’s side woke up after the break and Jirawat Sornwichian rolled the ball out of his feet and fired low past Gamal Abdelnaser. There was certainly more intent in the second period from both sides, though the profligacy hardly dispersed fully.
Neither keeper had their busiest of nights, but the tension did raise a few notches as Abdelrahman Elashwal bundled in with a couple of minutes to go, before Egypt struck the post in the final minute. However, Thailand held on and now go through in second, with Egypt facing a wait to see if three points is enough.
