In the first match of Group D, U23 Thailand lost to U23 Australia 1-2. The Southeast Asian team took the lead in the 8th minute, but then played with fewer players and lost the match unfortunately. Meanwhile, U23 Iraq drew with U23 China 0-0.
With this result, U23 Thailand and U23 Iraq both aim for victory in the direct confrontation to open up opportunities to advance. U23 Thailand coach Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul expects his players to show determination and strong fighting spirit when playing against U23 Iraq.
He said: "Our players are very strong in spirit, but U23 Iraq is a team with good technique, so we need to be ready to face high-quality players. We must choose players suitable for the team's tactics to ensure we achieve the goal of winning points and advance to the next round.
Meanwhile, U23 Iraq coach Emad Mohammed, knows that his team will face a difficult match. He shared: "U23 Thailand is very good and has made a lot of progress in the short time. They really showed great team spirit in the match against U23 Australia. We will consider their playing style and adjust our strategy to suit.
Statistics show that U23 Thailand is unbeaten in both recent encounters with U23 Iraq at the AFC U23 Asian Cup, won 2-0 in the most recent (April 2024) and drew 1-1 in the first encounter (January 2020), both matches before that took place in the group stage.
The 1-2 defeat to U23 Australia is the second time U23 Thailand has lost the opening match at a U23 Asian tournament, the previous time was in 2018 - a tournament where they lost all 3 group stage matches.
Including the goalless draw with U23 China, U23 Iraq has not won the opening match in all four recent tournaments (3 draws, 1 loss). Statistics also show that U23 Iraq has never missed scoring in two consecutive matches in the history of the tournament.
The U23 Thailand vs U23 Iraq match will take place at 9:00 PM on January 11.
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