Kasem confident of victory
[SOCCER] Thailand's Under-23 team manager Kasem Jariyawatwong is hoping that his side can cope with the loss of suspended star striker Teeratep "Leesaw" Winothai in what appears to be a crucial game in the 2008 Olympics qualifying round, when they host Iraq in a Group E match today.
The home fixture against Iraq is a crunch match for the Kingdom after they battled back from a goal down to claim a 1-1 draw from a tricky Middle East trip last month. The draw could prove priceless to their hopes of a first appearance in the Olympics for almost four decades. The result helped Thailand remain in the race for a berth in the final qualifying round. They are currently lying in third place with four points from three games, a point behind Iraq and a further two adrift of pacesetters North Korea. A victory for either Thailand or Iraq would considerably increase their respective chances of securing one of the two qualifying slots from the group, which also includes India. Thailand's task against the Middle East side, however, is made harder given the suspension of two key players, in-form striker Leesaw and midfielder Apiphu Sunthornpanawet. The absence of the former Crystal Palace youth-team player Leesaw, whose strikes earned points in previous matches, could be a huge loss to coach Prapol Pongpanich's men as it means Thailand are deprived of their main source of fire-power. Kasem acknowledged that the loss of Leesaw and Apiphu would inevitably have an impact on his side, but he believed the rest of the team could handle the handicap well. "Losing Leesaw and Apiphu is a huge blow to us. Leesaw is our main striker, while Apiphu is the backbone in midfield along with Anuwat [Inyin] and Chakapan [Kaewprom]. However, we must not dwell on mourning the loss. We'll concentrate on our job. That is to field a team good enough to seal a win," said Kasem. "We have no choice but to win this vital match for a chance of progressing into the next round. I believe we definitely have a chance of a victory playing at home. I paid respects to the sacred spirit for the team's good fortunes. I believe that luck is on our side, as we didn't have problems with the weather conditions in away matches. I'm hoping we'll have good luck again tomorrow," he added. The game will be held at the Royal Thai Army Stadium. Channel 7 will televise the match live from 5pm.
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