Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Bangkok: Thailand coach Adul Rungruang is considering making changes to his side in order to ensure the AFC U-16 Championship hosts achieve a positive result against Group A rivals Oman on Monday to kickstart their campaign at Muangthong Stadium.
Two-time champions Thailand endured a disappointing start to the tournament on Saturday as the 1996 and 1988 winners lost 1-0 to Malaysia.
And despite Oman losing their opener 3-1 to Korea Republic earlier on Saturday, Rungruang (pictured) knows his side must improve to remain in contention for a place in the quarter-finals.
"I watched Oman earlier and have planned my tactics to play against them, so I now need to find the right players to use to get a positive result," said Rungruang.
"We have the target to beat Oman, but we must improve in terms of closing down and marking opposition players."
After late goals from Yu Seung-min and You Juan denied two-time winners Oman a point against Korea in Saturday's opener, coach Ya'qoub Al Sabahi knows his side must at least get off the mark against Thailand to remain in the picture in Group A.
"We played well against Korea, but must improve our fitness," said Al Sabahi, who will have Mohammed Al Ubaidani available after the defender missed the defeat by Korea due to suspension.
"I have not had the chance to see Thailand play yet, but I do not plan to change our system too much as we have our way of playing.
"It is not a game that I feel we must win as four points is often enough to qualify from the group stage."
In Monday's other game in Group A, Korea will face Malaysia at Muangthong Stadium with both teams keen to build on a positive start to the tournament.
And two-time winners Korea will be boosted by the return of Barcelona striker Lee Seung-woo, who missed the win over Oman due to suspension.
"After the win against Oman, my players will have extra confidence and we can go into the Malaysia game and try to play our best football," said Korea coach Choi Jin-cheul.
"I don't think it is important to win the group, but I would like to play Japan in the quarter-finals."
Malaysia, who edged out Thailand thanks to a strike from Muhammad Hafizuddin, beat Korea 2-0 in last year's qualifiers as Balachandran Sithamparam's side secured a place at the AFC U-16 Championship for the first time since 2008.
"Korea are a top team, but we beat them in the qualifying round so we can take confidence from that," said Sithamparam.
"We will play the same system as we did against Thailand, and will take the tournament game-by-game. A win will probably qualify us, but a draw may also be good enough."