webfact Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 Saudis dash Thai Olympic hope By THE NATION Thailand team after their defeat (Photo by Wanchai Kraisornkhajit) Thailand’s hope for Olympic debut was shattered after they lost to Saudi Arabia 0-1 in the AFC U-24 Championship at the Thammasat Stadium on Saturday. A penalty kick by Saudi Abdullah Al Hamdan in the 78th minute put the end of journey for the Akira Nishino’s team which reached their first ever quarter-final in the tournament before. “Our players dealt with the pressure well since the group stage. However there were moments that they should have done better in their pressing game. It’s something the players have to improve as they still need more experience,” said the national coach Akira. Referee Ahmed Al Kaf awarded the penalty after confirmation of the offence by the Video Assistant Referee. The decision of Al Kaf sparked controversies among infuriated Thai fans on the social media. However for Saudi manager Saad Al Shehri, he believed that his team would still prevail even without the penalty. “The Thai team didn’t have many opportunities but we did. I believe we could convert any opportunities even we were not awarded the penalty,” Al Shehri said whose team is through to the next round and keep their hopes of a first Olympic appearance since 1996 intact. Top three teams in the AFC U-23 Championshill will qualify for the Olympics in Japan this year. Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/sport/30380778 -- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-01-20 Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike787 Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 Heart breaking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardColeman Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Wonder if they were waiting on the outcome before decided to finish the Pattaya stadium ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Cricky Posted January 20, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted January 20, 2020 Oh well, Thailand still has the Blue Diamond. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJAS Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 On 1/20/2020 at 3:37 AM, webfact said: However for Saudi manager Saad Al Shehri, he believed that his team would still prevail even without the penalty. Yep, with the game refereed by a fellow Arab he had every reason to be supremely confident:- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Al-Kaf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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