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By Kitinan Sanguansak – AFF Thai correspondent
With exactly a month to go until Thailand’s decisive World Cup qualifier against Oman, the burning question is how well the Thais will prepare for their final Group D match in Muscat on February 29.
Thailand were humbled in the recent King's Cup
To be in contention for a place in the final round of qualifying at the conclusion of the group stage is an achievement in itself for the Thai side, who few had given a chance after being drawn in the same section as regional heavyweights, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
However, their destiny is no longer in their hands as the Thais, who currently prop up the group with four points from five matches, have to rely on other result to go their way in the final round of the fixtures. A Thai win coupled with Saudi Arabia losing to already-qualified Australia would see them through to the last stage.
There is a possibility that such scenario will happen considering that the Thais’ single win so far came when they brushed aside Oman 3-0 at home in September, while the once mighty Saudis have endured an erratic campaign ahead of their Australia trip.
Should the Thais, who have harboured long-standing ambitions to make their first appearance in the World Cup finals, manage to squeeze into the next round it would be the first time in more than a decade that they reached the final qualifying phase after they did so in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers.
There is no doubt that the Oman fixture is viewed as the most important game in many years for a Thai side coached by former Cameroon coach Winfried Schaefer, but the Football Association of Thailand’s preparation plans raise doubts about whether they realise how significant the game is.
The FAT decided to stage the recent King’s Cup tournament in January instead of December, as has been the case in the past, on purpose to use it as part of the WC preparations. They went ahead with this despite Schaefer’s suggestion that rescheduling the annual event in mid-February would be a better option as the players would have more time to recuperate after a gruelling domestic season.
How accurate Schaefer’s caution was, as the Thais lost all their matches in the four-nation competition won by South Korea’s under-23 side. The German quickly pointed to the players’ poor physical conditions, which restricted him to fielding a largely second-string side, for the hosts’ lethargic showing in the country’s most prestigious event.
The 62-year-old German, who has breathed a new lease of life to Thailand since taking over in July, also must have wondered what his charges earned from participating in the tournament earmarked as a test before the Oman fixture but not featuring any teams with Middle East football style.
With the tournament being held outside the FIFA international calendar, the other three participating teams opted not to send their senior squads, with Denmark and Norway fielding a team entirely consisting of home-based players. That made mockery of the Thai FA’s attempt to promote the tournament as one of the premier events in the region.
The veteran coach’s work was further complicated after the FAT revealed last week they had to call off a training camp in United Arab Emirate next month after their UAE counterparts said they were unavailable for the proposed warm-up match on February 24.
The cancellation of the UAE trip underlined the Thai FA’s poor management since they should have prepared things much earlier, especially as they long knew the date of Oman game well in advance. Many of the sport’s leading nations set up plans in detail in advance. Some of those even started finding accommodation in the host country of major tournaments right after they secured their berth.
The FAT should have tried to arrange a training camp in Middle East long ago as they knew the players needed to get acclimatised to the desert conditions. Even though there was still time to find an alternative opponent, the authorities preferred to extend the training stint in Chiang Mai and invite the unfancied Maldives for a friendly at home instead before leaving for Oman.
How can we dream of a World Cup appearance with such ridiculous thinking?
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