AFC
Al Wakrah: Srecko Katanec has played down Uzbekistan’s tag as favourites for their AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ Round of 16 match against Thailand at Al Janoub Stadium on Tuesday.
Seeking to take Uzbekistan to a fifth quarter-final appearance, Katanec is wary of the threat that Thailand pose despite 45 places separating them in the FIFA World Ranking.
“You never know if it’s better to play after 3-4 days or like this (with a week’s break). We will see tomorrow at the final whistle,” said the 60-year-old Slovenian.
“The period between matches hasn’t helped with the players who were missing before because the players who are injured are still out.
“We have a very difficult game because Thailand haven’t conceded a goal yet. They are very organised with good press and good at transitioning. So maybe our draw isn’t as good as people make it out to be.
“Tomorrow we will see tactics, we can start with one system then perhaps change the system along the way, in any case, we’re ready.”
A week of training and recovery since they last took to the pitch for a 1-1 draw with Australia has not yielded much improvement for the White Wolves in terms of the playing squad with forward Igor Sergeev still recovering from injury.
Conversely, Masatada Ishii is able to herald the return of captain Theerathon Bunmanthan, who was suspended for the Australia tie.
Theerathon hit a century of international caps during the goalless draw with Oman and Ishii is pleased to be able to rely on the War Elephants inspirational leader again as they look to better their performance in UAE 2019 by reaching the last eight.
“Absolutely a plus for us to have him back in the squad, someone who is very experienced at international level,” said Ishii.
“As one of the most important players in the team, he can have a galvanising impact on the team and he’ll make us one team.
“As we qualified for the Round of 16 with five points, we met our objectives but now we want to continue competing in this tournament.
“Uzbekistan have a good defensive structure with lots of players who are organised, they like to work with deep spaces so we will try to come up with plans to counter all that.”