Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Pattaya: Thailand head coach Abolfazl Khodabandehloo has urged his side not to succumb to the pressure of being hosts, as the War Elephants prepare to face Palestine on a blockbuster opening day of the AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019.
GROUP A
Khodabandehloo, who led Thailand at the AFC Beach Soccer Championship in Malaysia two years ago, believes hosting the competition has the potential to help his side in Pattaya, but the experienced coach - who turned 60 on Saturday - is aware that playing at home can act as a double-edged sword.
https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/afc_beach_soccer_asian_cup/video/preview_groups_a__b.html
https://www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/group_a-4.html
https://www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/group_a-3.html
https://www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/group_b-6.html
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https://www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/group_b-2.html
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tehran: Islamic Republic of Iran are determined to defend their AFC Beach Soccer Championship title next month and seal a berth in the 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
The AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019 will be held in Pattaya on March 7-17 and Iran head coach Marco Octavio is optimistic of his team's chances.
“Without a doubt, we have an excellent team for the AFC Beach Soccer Championship. We’ve found 86 new players across the country and they took part in our training camps.
"It’s very important to have young players for the future,” the Brazilian said in an interview with the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran website.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Pattaya: Thailand will not take their group opponents lightly, says head coach Abolfazl Khodabandehloo, when the AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019 gets underway in March.
Khodabandehloo has warned the home nation not to be complacent when they face Afghanistan, Malaysia and debutants Palestine in Group A.
“All teams in our group are tough. We won’t have an easy game and no country will come here just to add to the numbers. Thailand played with Malaysia and Afghanistan recently and both teams are technically and physically good and they are improving.
“I don’t know about Palestine but they will have the physical advantage over Thailand. Our group is going to be an open race,” said Khodabandehloo.
Thailand, the highest ranked team in Group A, will aim to build on their performances at the AFF Beach Soccer Championship in November where they were undefeated in a group of five teams before losing to Vietnam in the final.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Pattaya: Oman head coach Talib Hilal will rely on a mixture of new and experienced players when his team contends at the AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019.
The West Asian side are drawn in a difficult group where they face defending champions Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq in Group D.
Hilal expects a strong challenge from his opponents but remains optimistic that his side will pull through the group stage.
“We have 15 teams and there are no weak teams. Any team has a chance to qualify for the next stage. We are in a three-team group and it is very difficult because we are playing against Iran and Iraq,” said Hilal.
“Iran is a strong team but my team is also strong. We’ve played against Iran on so many different occasions and the outcome is always separated by a small margin. Iraq is also a good team and they have the experienced Karim Moghadam as their coach now.”
Hilal is confident the addition of new talents will give his team an extra edge as they aim to improve on their result in the AFC Beach Soccer Championship Malaysia 2017.